Puntuar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of puntuar — "to score, to punctuate" 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 puntuar 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. Puntuar has two senses: to give marks — puntuar los exámenes — and to punctuate a text — puntuar el texto con comas. The context shows which one is meant. To see it in a real sentence: Yo puntúo los exámenes de sus alumnos — "I score his pupils' exams".
Present tense conjugation table: puntuar
Every person of puntuar in the present tense. The gerund is puntuando and the past participle is puntuado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | puntúo |
| tú | puntúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | puntúa |
| nosotros/as | puntuamos |
| vosotros/as | puntuáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | puntúan |
How the present of puntuar is formed
The present of puntuar is built from the stem puntu- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar 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 | puntúo |
| tú | -as | puntúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | puntúa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | puntuamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | puntuáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | puntúan |
The gerund of puntuar is puntuando and the past participle is puntuado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of puntuar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and puntuar 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.
Habits and routines
The present describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo puntúo los exámenes de sus alumnos" — "Every day, I score his pupils' exams"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo puntúa el texto con comas" — "My friend scores the text with commas"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo puntúo alto en la competición" — "Right now, I score high in the competition"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros puntuamos la redacción con cuidado" — "Tomorrow, we score the essay carefully"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos puntúan diez puntos en el concurso" — "They score ten points in the contest"
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: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo puntúo los exámenes de sus alumnos — "I score his pupils' exams"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo puntué los exámenes de sus alumnos — "I scored his pupils' exams"
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: {}tú puntúas el texto con comas — "You score the text with commas"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú puntuabas el texto con comas — "You used to score the text with commas"
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: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él puntúa alto en la competición — "He scores high in the competition"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él puntuará alto en la competición — "He will score high in the competition"
Examples: puntuar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show puntuar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo puntúo los exámenes de sus alumnos — "I score his pupils' exams"
- Tú puntúas el texto con comas — "You score the text with commas"
- Él puntúa alto en la competición — "He scores high in the competition"
- Nosotros puntuamos la redacción con cuidado — "We score the essay carefully"
- Vosotros puntuáis diez puntos en el concurso — "You score ten points in the contest"
- Ellos puntúan los exámenes de sus alumnos — "They score his pupils' exams"
- Yo puntúo el texto con comas — "I score the text with commas"
Common mistakes with puntuar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with puntuar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo puntúo en los exámenes de sus alumnos.
✓ Correct: Yo puntúo los exámenes de sus alumnos.
puntuar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo puntúo los exámenes de sus alumnos.
✗ *Tú puntúa el texto con comas.
✓ Correct: Tú puntúas el texto con comas.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes puntúas, él takes puntúa.
✗ *Cada día, yo puntué alto en la competición
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo puntúo alto en la competición
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros puntuais la redacción con cuidado.
✓ Correct: Vosotros puntuáis la redacción con cuidado.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: puntuáis, not puntuais.
Quiz: puntuar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of puntuar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of puntuar for tú? A. puntuamos B. puntúas C. puntúo D. puntúa
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ los exámenes de sus alumnos — "I score his pupils' exams" (present) A. puntuamos B. puntúo C. puntúas D. puntúa
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el texto con comas — "He scores the text with commas" (present) A. puntúa B. puntúo C. puntúas D. puntuamos
Which is the correct present form of puntuar for nosotros? A. puntuamos B. puntúas C. puntúa D. puntúan
Which sentence uses puntuar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo puntuaba alto en la competición B. Mi amigo puntuamos alto en la competición C. Mi amigo puntúa alto en la competición D. Mi amigo puntúas alto en la competición
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ la redacción con cuidado — "You score the essay carefully" (present) A. puntuáis B. puntúo C. puntúas D. puntúa
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ diez puntos en el concurso — "They score ten points in the contest" (present) A. puntúa B. puntúan C. puntúo D. puntúas
What is the gerund of puntuar? A. puntuado B. puntúo C. puntué D. puntuando
Answer key
- puntúas — The tú form in the present is puntúas.
- puntúo — The present form for yo is puntúo.
- puntúa — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is puntúa.
- puntuamos — The nosotros form in the present is puntuamos.
- Mi amigo puntúa alto en la competición — Mi amigo puntúa alto en la competición is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- puntuáis — The present form for vosotros/as is puntuáis.
- puntúan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is puntúan.
- puntuando — The gerund is puntuando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle puntuado.
Frequently asked questions
Is puntuar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense puntuar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of puntuar?
The gerund is puntuando and the past participle is puntuado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I score" in the present tense?
Say puntúo. For example: Yo puntúo los exámenes de sus alumnos — "I score his pupils' exams".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of puntuar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo puntúo los exámenes de sus alumnos — "I score his pupils' exams". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo puntué los exámenes de sus alumnos — "Yesterday, I scored his pupils' exams". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of puntuar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- puntuar 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.