Planchar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb planchar means to iron, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full planchar conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo plancho la camisa. — "I iron the shirt."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for planchar, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

The planchar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for planchar. The gerund is planchando and the past participle is planchado.

Person Form
yo plancho
tú planchas
él/ella/Ud. plancha
nosotros/as planchamos
vosotros/as plancháis
ellos/ellas/Uds. planchan

The gerund planchando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy planchando, I am ironing), and the past participle planchado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he planchado, I have ironed).

How the present tense of planchar is formed

Start with the infinitive planchar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem planch-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

planchar is regular in the present: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: plancháis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: plancho on its own means both "I iron" and "I am ironing" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of planchar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about ironing clothes: shirts, trousers, the week's washing.

  • Yo plancho la camisa. — "I iron the shirt."
  • Tú planchas los pantalones. — "you iron the trousers."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about where and when you iron, often while watching television.

  • Él plancha la ropa de la semana. — "he/she irons the week's clothes."
  • Nosotros planchamos en el salón. — "we iron in the living room."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about household chores and how long they take.

  • Vosotros plancháis los domingos. — "you (all) iron on Sundays."
  • Ellos planchan con cuidado. — "they iron carefully."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él plancha la ropa de la semana. — "he/she irons the week's clothes."
  • Nosotros planchamos en el salón. — "we iron in the living room."

Planchar present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo plancho la camisa. — "I iron the shirt."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy planchando la camisa. — "I am ironing the shirt."

  • Present (habit): Tú planchas los pantalones. — "you iron the trousers."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás planchando los pantalones. — "you are ironing the trousers."

  • Present (habit): Él plancha la ropa de la semana. — "he/she irons the week's clothes."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está planchando la ropa de la semana. — "he/she is ironing the week's clothes."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say plancho every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy planchando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of planchar in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Plancho la camisa antes de ir al trabajo. — "I iron the shirt before going to work."
  2. Mi madre plancha los pantalones los domingos. — "My mother irons the trousers on Sundays."
  3. Ayer planché la ropa de la semana en el salón. — "Yesterday I ironed the week's clothes in the living room."
  4. De joven, planchaba con cuidado todas las camisas. — "When I was young, I used to iron all the shirts carefully."
  5. Mañana plancharé la ropa antes de la boda. — "Tomorrow I will iron the clothes before the wedding."
  6. Si tuviera una plancha nueva, plancharía más rápido. — "If I had a new iron, I would iron faster."
  7. Él plancha los domingos. — "he/she irons on Sundays."
  8. Nosotros planchamos con cuidado. — "we iron carefully."

Common mistakes with planchar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo plancha la camisa.

Wrong: Yo plancha la camisa.

Right: Yo plancho la camisa.

The yo form ends in -o: plancho. Plancha is the él/ella form.

2. Ayer yo plancho la ropa.

Wrong: Ayer yo plancho la ropa.

Right: Ayer yo planché la ropa.

A finished action yesterday needs the preterite, and the yo preterite of planchar changes c to qu: planché, so the sound stays the same.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo plancho la camisa.

Right: Ayer yo planché la camisa.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: planché. The present plancho describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros planchais la camisa.

Right: Vosotros plancháis la camisa.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: plancháis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on planchar in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ la camisa
    • a) plancho
    • b) planchas
    • c) plancha
    • d) planchamos
  2. Tú ___ los pantalones
    • a) plancho
    • b) plancha
    • c) planchamos
    • d) planchas
  3. Él ___ la ropa de la semana
    • a) planchas
    • b) planchamos
    • c) plancha
    • d) plancho
  4. Nosotros ___ en el salón
    • a) plancha
    • b) planchamos
    • c) plancho
    • d) planchas
  5. Vosotros ___ los domingos
    • a) plancháis
    • b) plancho
    • c) planchas
    • d) plancha
  6. Ellos ___ con cuidado
    • a) plancho
    • b) planchas
    • c) plancha
    • d) planchan
  7. Yo ___ la camisa
    • a) plancha
    • b) planchamos
    • c) plancho
    • d) planchas
  8. Tú ___ los pantalones
    • a) planchamos
    • b) planchas
    • c) plancho
    • d) plancha

Answers

  1. a) plancho — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) planchas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) plancha — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) planchamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) plancháis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) planchan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) plancho — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) planchas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about planchar in the present

Why is the yo preterite planché and not plancé?

Verbs ending in -car change c to qu before e, to keep the hard k sound: yo planché, but tú planchaste, él planchó. The present is not affected: yo plancho.

Is planchar regular?

Almost. It is regular except for the -car spelling change in the yo preterite (planché). The present is fully regular: plancho, planchas, plancha, planchamos, plancháis, planchan.

Is planchar regular in the present?

Yes. planchar is regular in the present: the six forms are the stem planch- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example plancho.

What are the gerund and the past participle of planchar?

The gerund is planchando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy planchando), and the past participle is planchado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he planchado).

How to remember planchar

Four small habits will fix planchar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: plancho, planchas, plancha, planchamos, plancháis, planchan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (plancho), one about yesterday with the preterite (planché), and one about tomorrow with the future (plancharé). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from lavar: Planchar is ironing clothes after they are washed; lavar is washing them. You lavas la ropa first and then la planchas. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund planchando and the past participle planchado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy planchando) and the present perfect (he planchado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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