Regresar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of regresar — "to return, to come back" 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 regresar 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. Regresar means to return or to come back, and it is used for coming back home, returning to work after a holiday and returning a book to the library. It is a slightly more formal synonym of volver, and it is a fully regular -ar verb. To see it in a real sentence: Él regresa a casa después del trabajo. — "He/she returns home after work." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: regresar

Every person of regresar in the present tense. The gerund is regresando and the past participle is regresado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo regreso
tú regresas
él/ella/Ud. regresa
nosotros/as regresamos
vosotros/as regresáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. regresan

How the present indicative of regresar is formed

The present indicative of regresar is built from the stem regres- 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 regreso
tú -as regresas
él/ella/Ud. -a regresa
nosotros/as -amos regresamos
vosotros/as -áis regresáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an regresan

The gerund of regresar is regresando and the past participle is regresado. 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 regresar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and regresar 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 tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For regresar, this use looks like this: "Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo." — "I return home after work." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For regresar, this use looks like this: "Él regresa de las vacaciones el lunes." — "He/she returns from holiday on Monday." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For regresar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros regresamos al pueblo de mis abuelos." — "We return to my grandparents' village." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For regresar, this use looks like this: "Ellos regresan temprano por la noche." — "They return early in the evening." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For regresar, this use looks like this: "Tú regresas a casa después del trabajo." — "You return home after work." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with regresar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo." — "I return home after work."
  • Preterite: "Yo regresé a casa después del trabajo." — "I returned home after work." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él regresa de las vacaciones el lunes." — "He/she returns from holiday on Monday."
  • Preterite: "Él regresó de las vacaciones el lunes." — "He/she returned from holiday on Monday." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros regresamos al pueblo de mis abuelos." — "We return to my grandparents' village."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros regresamos al pueblo de mis abuelos." — "We returned to my grandparents' village." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with regresar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo. — I return home after work.
  2. Tú regresas de las vacaciones el lunes. — You return from holiday on Monday.
  3. Él regresa al pueblo de mis abuelos. — He/she returns to my grandparents' village.
  4. Nosotros regresamos temprano por la noche. — We return early in the evening.
  5. Vosotros regresáis a casa después del trabajo. — You all return home after work.
  6. Ellos regresan de las vacaciones el lunes. — They return from holiday on Monday.
  7. Yo regreso al pueblo de mis abuelos. — I return to my grandparents' village.
  8. Él regresa temprano por la noche. — He/she returns early in the evening.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros regresais de las vacaciones el lunes. — Right: Vosotros regresáis de las vacaciones el lunes. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: regresáis, not regresais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo regreso al pueblo de mis abuelos. — Right: Ayer, yo regresé al pueblo de mis abuelos. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (regresé), not the present (regreso). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo regresa a casa después del trabajo. — Right: Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo. — The person matters: regresa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is regreso.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy regresado de las vacaciones el lunes. — Right: Yo he regresado de las vacaciones el lunes. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he regresado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of regresar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a casa después del trabajo. (present tense) A. regreso B. regresas C. regresa D. regresamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ de las vacaciones el lunes. (present tense) A. regresas B. regreso C. regresa D. regresamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ al pueblo de mis abuelos. (present tense) A. regresa B. regreso C. regresas D. regresamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ temprano por la noche. (present tense) A. regresamos B. regreso C. regresas D. regresa

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ a casa después del trabajo. (present tense) A. regresáis B. regreso C. regresas D. regresa

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ de las vacaciones el lunes. (present tense) A. regresan B. regreso C. regresas D. regresa

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al pueblo de mis abuelos. (present tense) A. regreso B. regresas C. regresa D. regresamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ temprano por la noche. (present tense) A. regresa B. regreso C. regresas D. regresamos

Answer key

  1. regreso — The yo present form of regresar is regreso. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. regresas — The tu present form of regresar is regresas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. regresa — The el present form of regresar is regresa. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. regresamos — The nosotros present form of regresar is regresamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. regresáis — The vosotros present form of regresar is regresáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. regresan — The ellos present form of regresar is regresan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. regreso — The yo present form of regresar is regreso. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. regresa — The el present form of regresar is regresa. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of regresar?

Use the present tense of regresar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo regreso a casa después del trabajo. — "I return home after work." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of regresar formed?

Take the stem regres- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of regresar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo regreso de las vacaciones el lunes. with Yo regresé de las vacaciones el lunes. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of regresar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the regresar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Regresar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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