Pulir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of pulir — “to polish” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for pulir with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Pulir means to polish, to make a surface smooth and shiny by rubbing it. It is used for shoes, wood, metal, stone and nails, and it is a fully regular -ir verb. To see it in a real sentence: Pulo los zapatos antes de la boda. — “I polish the shoes before the wedding.” Learn the six forms in the table below, and the present tense of pulir will be ready for everyday conversation.
Present tense conjugation table: pulir
Every person of pulir in the present tense. The gerund is puliendo and the past participle is pulido.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | pulo |
| tú | pules |
| él/ella/Ud. | pule |
| nosotros/as | pulimos |
| vosotros/as | pulís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pulen |
How the present indicative of pulir is formed
The present indicative of pulir is built from the stem plus the present indicative endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -o | pulo |
| tú | -es | pules |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | pule |
| nosotros/as | -imos | pulimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | pulís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | pulen |
Pulir is a regular -ir verb in the present tense, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is pul- and the endings are the normal -ir endings, so once you know the pattern you can produce every form on this page.
The gerund of pulir is puliendo and the past participle is pulido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present tense of pulir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and pulir appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Routines and habits
Use the present for things you do regularly, every day or every week. The present is the tense of routine, and pulir fits naturally into daily life.
“Yo pulo los zapatos antes de la boda todos los días.” — “I polish the shoes before the wedding every day.”
General facts
Use the present for facts that are true in general, not just today. When you state how something is, the present is the tense to use.
“Él pule la madera hasta dejarla lisa.” — “He/she polishes the wood until it is smooth.”
What is happening right now
Use the present for what is happening at this moment. Spanish often uses the simple present where English uses the progressive, so pulo can mean both “I polish” and “I am polishing”.
“Ahora mismo, yo pulo el suelo de mármol.” — “Right now, I polish the marble floor.”
Fixed plans in the near future
Use the present for a plan that is already fixed, such as something arranged for tomorrow. Spanish uses the present for near-future plans much more freely than English does.
“Mañana, yo pulo las uñas con cuidado.” — “Tomorrow, I will polish my nails carefully.”
Questions and negatives
Use the present to ask about habits and to say what does not happen. The question and the negative use exactly the same forms as the statement.
“¿Tú pules los zapatos antes de la boda?” — “Do you polish the shoes before the wedding?”
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: Pule la madera hasta dejarla lisa. — “He/she polishes the wood until it is smooth.”
- Preterite — one finished occasion: Pulió la madera hasta dejarla lisa. — the same idea, placed in the preterite.
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add “used to” in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: Pulen el suelo de mármol. — “They polish the marble floor.”
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: Pulían el suelo de mármol. — the same idea, placed in the imperfect.
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: Pules las uñas con cuidado. — “You polish my nails carefully.”
- Future — what will happen: Pulirás las uñas con cuidado. — the same idea, placed in the future.
Examples: pulir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show pulir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo pulo los zapatos antes de la boda. — “I polish the shoes before the wedding.”
- Tú pules la madera hasta dejarla lisa. — “You polish the wood until it is smooth.”
- Él pule el suelo de mármol. — “He polishes the marble floor.”
- Nosotros pulimos las uñas con cuidado. — “We polish my nails carefully.”
- Vosotros pulís los zapatos antes de la boda. — “You (plural) polish the shoes before the wedding.”
- Ellos pulen la madera hasta dejarla lisa. — “They polish the wood until it is smooth.”
- ¿Tú pules el suelo de mármol? — “Do you polish the marble floor?”
Common mistakes with pulir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with pulir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ Yo pulir los zapatos antes de la boda. (using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form).
✓ Correct: Yo pulo los zapatos antes de la boda.
The infinitive is not a conjugated form. With yo, the present tense of pulir is pulo, not the infinitive pulir.
✗ Vosotros pulis los zapatos antes de la boda. (forgetting the accent on the vosotros form).
✓ Correct: Vosotros pulís los zapatos antes de la boda.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: pulís, not pulis. The accent marks the stressed vowel, and leaving it out is a spelling mistake.
✗ Ayer, yo pulo la madera hasta dejarla lisa. (using the present for a finished past action).
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo pulí la madera hasta dejarla lisa.
The present and the preterite are different tenses: pulo is happening now, while pulí is a finished action in the past. Use the preterite with ayer.
✗ Treating pulir and limpiar as identical in every context. (confusing pulir with limpiar).
✓ Correct: Pulir means to polish, while limpiar means to clean.
They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: pulir fits sentences such as Pulo los zapatos antes de la boda, while limpiar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
Quiz: pulir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of pulir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
1. Which is the correct present tense form of pulir for tú?
- a) pules
- b) pulo
- c) pule
- d) pulen
2. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ los zapatos antes de la boda. — “I polish the shoes before the wedding.”
- a) pule
- b) pulimos
- c) pules
- d) pulo
3. Complete the sentence: Él ______ la madera hasta dejarla lisa. — “He/she polishes the wood until it is smooth.” (present tense)
- a) pulía
- b) pulirá
- c) pule
- d) pulió
4. Which is the correct present tense form of pulir for nosotros?
- a) pulen
- b) pulimos
- c) pulo
- d) pule
5. Which sentence uses pulir correctly in the present tense?
- a) Él pulió la madera hasta dejarla lisa.
- b) Él pule la madera hasta dejarla lisa.
- c) Él pulirá la madera hasta dejarla lisa.
- d) Ellos pule la madera hasta dejarla lisa.
6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el suelo de mármol. — “They polish the marble floor.”
- a) pulo
- b) pule
- c) pulimos
- d) pulen
7. Complete the question: ¿Tú ______ las uñas con cuidado? — “Do you polish my nails carefully?”
- a) pule
- b) pulirás
- c) pules
- d) pulo
8. What is the gerund of pulir?
- a) pulí
- b) puliendo
- c) pulido
- d) pulo
Answer key
a) pules — The tú form is pules. The -s ending belongs to tú in the present; pulo is yo, pule is él/ella and pulen is ellos/ellas.
d) pulo — The sentence needs the yo form in the present: pulo. The other options are the wrong person.
c) pule — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form in the present: pule. The other options are the preterite, the imperfect and the future.
b) pulimos — Nosotros takes pulimos. In the present the nosotros ending for -ir verbs is -imos, attached to the stem.
b) Él pule la madera hasta dejarla lisa. — Él pule la madera hasta dejarla lisa. is correct: the verb agrees with its subject. The other sentences use the wrong person or the wrong tense.
d) pulen — The subject is ellos/ellas/Uds., so the present form is pulen.
c) pules — The question needs the tú form in the present: pules.
b) puliendo — The gerund is puliendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive (estar + gerund), and it is not the past participle pulido.
Frequently asked questions
Is pulir regular in the present tense?
Yes. Pulir is a regular -ir verb in the present tense, so the forms follow the standard endings: pulo, pules, pule, pulimos, pulís and pulen.
What is the gerund and the past participle of pulir?
The gerund is puliendo and the past participle is pulido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say “I polish” in Spanish?
Say pulo. For example: Pulo los zapatos antes de la boda. — “I polish the shoes before the wedding.”
What is the difference between pulir and limpiar?
Pulir means “to polish”, while limpiar means “to clean”. They are related words that learners often meet together, but they are not interchangeable — use pulir when you mean “to polish” and limpiar when you mean “to clean”. The full conjugation of pulir is on its own page.
Related links
- Full conjugation of pulir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- pulir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.
- Exhibir conjugation — another -ir verb to compare with pulir.
- Mugir conjugation — another -ir verb to compare with pulir.
- Destituir conjugation — another -ir verb to compare with pulir.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise this verb in the interactive tool.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on Spanish verbs.