Preocupar Present Tense in Spanish
Introduction
preocupar means "to worry" in English, and the present tense is the form you use when you talk about what happens regularly, what is generally true, and what is happening now. This page gives you the full present-tense table for preocupar, explains how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it, contrasts it with the closest tense, and finishes with examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the most common questions. A natural example is: Cada día, me preocupa el examen de mañana. — "Every day, tomorrow's exam worries me." Once you can say that sentence confidently, try changing the person and the complement using the table below.
The present tense of preocupar: full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| Yo | preocupo |
| Tú | preocupas |
| Él / Ella | preocupa |
| Nosotros | preocupamos |
| Vosotros | preocupáis |
| Ellos | preocupan |
The gerund of preocupar is preocupando and the past participle is preocupado. The gerund is used for the progressive (estoy preocupando), and the participle is used with haber in all perfect tenses (he preocupado).
How the present tense of preocupar is formed
The present tense of preocupar is built from the stem preocup- plus the regular -ar endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. Take the infinitive, remove the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person: yo preocupo, tú preocupas, él preocupa, nosotros preocupamos, vosotros preocupáis and ellos preocupan. Once you know the pattern for one regular -ar verb, you can apply it to hundreds of others.
In everyday use, preocupar usually works like gustar: the thing that produces the feeling is the subject of the sentence, and you are the indirect object. So you say me preocupa el examen de mañana — literally, the thing is the subject and you are the person it affects — rather than starting with yo. The verb agrees with the thing, not with you: one thing takes the singular form preocupa, and several things take the plural form preocupan. The full table above still matters, because the transitive use (for example, preocupar a alguien) uses the ordinary persons.
Two more forms belong with this tense. The gerund is preocupando, used for the progressive with estar: estoy preocupando. The past participle is preocupado, used with haber in all perfect tenses: he preocupado. Both forms appear constantly, so they are worth memorising on their own.
When to use the present tense with preocupar
1. Exams and health
Me preocupa el examen de mañana is the sentence every student knows. The exam is the subject, and the worry belongs to you, which is why Spanish says me preocupa and not yo preocupo. For example: Me preocupa el examen de mañana. — "Tomorrow's exam worries me."
2. Money and prices
Me preocupa el precio de la gasolina shows the verb with an everyday economic worry. The structure is the same as with exams: the price worries you, so the price is the subject. For example: Te preocupa la salud de mi madre. — "My mother's health worries you."
3. Worrying about someone
Me preocupo por mi madre shows the reflexive use. Here you are doing the worrying, and por introduces the person you worry about. It is a different structure from me preocupa, and learners must not mix them. For example: Le preocupa el precio de la gasolina. — "The price of petrol worries him."
4. Plans and the near future
The present tense is also used for plans that are already fixed, especially with a time expression. Spanish speakers often say the present where English would use a future: the plan is so certain that it feels like a fact. For example, to talk about tomorrow's plan you can use the future — Mañana, me preocupará el futuro de mis hijos. — "Tomorrow, my children's future will worry me." — but in conversation you will also hear the present used the same way.
5. General truths and routines
Finally, the present tense states general truths and routines: what usually happens, what is always true, what people normally do. It is the tense of habits and of facts that do not belong to one moment. For example: Normalmente, le preocupa el examen de mañana. — "Normally, tomorrow's exam worries him."
Present vs preterite: preocupar
The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and learners mix them up constantly. The rule is simple: the present describes habits, routines and general truths, while the preterite describes one action that started and finished in the past. The three pairs below show the difference with preocupar.
Pair 1
- Present (habit): Cada día, me preocupa el examen de mañana. — "Every day, tomorrow's exam worries me."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, me preocupó el examen de mañana. — "Yesterday, tomorrow's exam worried me."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Pair 2
- Present (habit): Cada día, me preocupa la salud de mi madre. — "Every day, my mother's health worries me."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, me preocupó la salud de mi madre. — "Yesterday, my mother's health worried me."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Pair 3
- Present (habit): Cada día, me preocupa el precio de la gasolina. — "Every day, the price of petrol worries me."
- Preterite (one finished action): Ayer, me preocupó el precio de la gasolina. — "Yesterday, the price of petrol worried me."
The first sentence describes something that happens regularly. The second describes something that happened once, yesterday, and is now finished. If you can add cada día, use the present; if you can add ayer, use the preterite.
Examples: preocupar in the present tense
These six sentences show preocupar in the present tense with a different person each time. Read them aloud, then try changing the person and the complement to make your own versions.
- Me preocupa el examen de mañana. — "Tomorrow's exam worries me."
- Te preocupa la salud de mi madre. — "My mother's health worries you."
- Le preocupa el precio de la gasolina. — "The price of petrol worries him."
- Nos preocupa el futuro de mis hijos. — "My children's future worries us."
- Os preocupa el examen de mañana. — "Tomorrow's exam worries you."
- Les preocupa la salud de mi madre. — "My mother's health worries them."
Common mistakes with preocupar in the present tense
Mistake 1
- Wrong: Yo preocupo el examen.
- Right: Me preocupa el examen.
- Why: When something worries you, preocupar works like gustar: me preocupa el examen. Yo preocupo would mean I worry someone else.
Mistake 2
- Wrong: Me preocupa los precios.
- Right: Me preocupan los precios.
- Why: The verb agrees with the subject. Los precios is plural, so the verb must be preocupan.
Mistake 3
- Wrong: Me preocupo el examen.
- Right: Me preocupa el examen. / Me preocupo por el examen.
- Why: Me preocupo means I worry, and it needs por: me preocupo por el examen. To say the exam worries you, use me preocupa el examen.
Mistake 4
- Wrong: Ayer, me preocupa el examen de mañana.
- Right: Ayer, me preocupó el examen de mañana.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite. The present tense is for habits and routines, not for yesterday.
Mistake 5
- Wrong: Me preocupais el examen de mañana.
- Right: Me preocupáis el examen de mañana.
- Why: The form is preocupáis, with a written accent. The accent is part of the spelling, and without it the word is misspelled.
Quiz: the present tense of preocupar
Test yourself with eight questions on the present tense of preocupar. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the i form of preocupar in the present tense?
- (a) preocupo
- (b) preocupas
- (c) preocupa
- (d) preocupamos
Answer: (a) preocupo. The i form is preocupo. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
2. What is the you form of preocupar in the present tense?
- (a) preocupo
- (b) preocupa
- (c) preocupamos
- (d) preocupas
Answer: (d) preocupas. The you form is preocupas. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
3. What is the he / she form of preocupar in the present tense?
- (a) preocupas
- (b) preocupamos
- (c) preocupa
- (d) preocupo
Answer: (c) preocupa. The he / she form is preocupa. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
4. What is the we form of preocupar in the present tense?
- (a) preocupa
- (b) preocupamos
- (c) preocupo
- (d) preocupas
Answer: (b) preocupamos. The we form is preocupamos. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
5. What is the they form of preocupar in the present tense?
- (a) preocupan
- (b) preocupo
- (c) preocupas
- (d) preocupa
Answer: (a) preocupan. The they form is preocupan. The other options are the yo, tu, el forms, so check the person before you answer.
6. Complete the sentence: Cada día, me ___ el examen de mañana.
- (a) preocupó
- (b) preocupaba
- (c) preocupa
- (d) preocupan
Answer: (c) preocupa. The sentence needs the third-person form preocupa (Every day, tomorrow's exam worries me.)
7. What is the gerund of preocupar?
- (a) preocupado
- (b) preocupar
- (c) preocupa
- (d) preocupando
Answer: (d) preocupando. The gerund is preocupando, used for the progressive: estoy preocupando.
8. Which sentence describes a habit, something you do regularly?
- (a) Cada día, me preocupa la salud de mi madre.
- (b) Antes, me preocupaba la salud de mi madre.
- (c) Ayer, me preocupó la salud de mi madre.
- (d) Mañana, me preocupará la salud de mi madre.
Answer: (a) Cada día, me preocupa la salud de mi madre.. Cada día, me preocupa la salud de mi madre. (Every day, my mother's health worries me.) describes a habit, so it uses the present tense. Ayer, me preocupó la salud de mi madre. is a single completed action, and Mañana, me preocupará la salud de mi madre. is in the future.
Frequently asked questions about the present tense of preocupar
What is the difference between me preocupa and me preocupo?
Me preocupa el examen means the exam worries me; the exam is the subject. Me preocupo por el examen means I worry about the exam; you are the subject.
Is it preocupa or preocupan?
It depends on the subject: me preocupa el examen (singular), me preocupan los precios (plural). The verb always agrees with the thing that worries you.
Is preocupar regular?
Yes. Preocupar is a regular -ar verb: preocupo, preocupaste, preocupaba, preocuparé. The challenge is the sentence structure, not the conjugation.
When do I use the present tense instead of the preterite with preocupar?
Use the present for habits and routines: Cada día, me preocupa el examen de mañana. — "Every day, tomorrow's exam worries me." Use the preterite for one finished action: Ayer, me preocupó el examen de mañana. — "Yesterday, tomorrow's exam worried me." If the action happens regularly, choose the present; if it happened once and is finished, choose the preterite.