Renovar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of renovar — "to renew" 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 renovar 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. Renovar covers renewing documents and contracts, and also refurbishing a room or a house. For a subscription or a licence it means to extend it for another period. To see it in a real sentence: Yo renuevo el pasaporte en enero — "I renew his passport in January".
Present tense conjugation table: renovar
Every person of renovar in the present tense. The gerund is renovando and the past participle is renovado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | renuevo |
| tú | renuevas |
| él/ella/Ud. | renueva |
| nosotros/as | renovamos |
| vosotros/as | renováis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | renuevan |
How the present of renovar is formed
The present of renovar is built from the stem renov- 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 | renuevo |
| tú | -as | renuevas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | renueva |
| nosotros/as | -amos | renovamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | renováis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | renuevan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: renuevo, renuevas, renueva and renuevan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: renovamos, renováis.
The gerund of renovar is renovando and the past participle is renovado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of renovar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and renovar 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 renuevo el pasaporte en enero" — "Every day, I renew his passport in January"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo renueva el contrato de alquiler" — "My friend renews the rental contract"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo renuevo la suscripción a la revista" — "Right now, I renew the magazine subscription"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros renovamos la cocina de la casa" — "Tomorrow, we renew the kitchen of the house"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos renuevan su compromiso con el equipo" — "They renew his commitment to the team"
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 renuevo el pasaporte en enero — "I renew his passport in January"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo renové el pasaporte en enero — "I renewed his passport in January"
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 renuevas el contrato de alquiler — "You renew the rental contract"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú renovabas el contrato de alquiler — "You used to renew the rental contract"
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 renueva la suscripción a la revista — "He renews the magazine subscription"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él renovará la suscripción a la revista — "He will renew the magazine subscription"
Examples: renovar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show renovar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo renuevo el pasaporte en enero — "I renew his passport in January"
- Tú renuevas el contrato de alquiler — "You renew the rental contract"
- Él renueva la suscripción a la revista — "He renews the magazine subscription"
- Nosotros renovamos la cocina de la casa — "We renew the kitchen of the house"
- Vosotros renováis su compromiso con el equipo — "You renew his commitment to the team"
- Ellos renuevan el pasaporte en enero — "They renew his passport in January"
- Yo renuevo el contrato de alquiler — "I renew the rental contract"
Common mistakes with renovar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with renovar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo renovo el pasaporte en enero.
✓ Correct: Yo renuevo el pasaporte en enero.
renovar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is renuevo, not renovo.
✗ *Tú renueva el contrato de alquiler.
✓ Correct: Tú renuevas el contrato de alquiler.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes renuevas, él takes renueva.
✗ *Cada día, yo renové la suscripción a la revista
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo renuevo la suscripción a la revista
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros renovais la cocina de la casa.
✓ Correct: Vosotros renováis la cocina de la casa.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: renováis, not renovais.
Quiz: renovar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of renovar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of renovar for tú? A. renuevo B. renueva C. renovamos D. renuevas
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el pasaporte en enero — "I renew his passport in January" (present) A. renuevo B. renuevas C. renueva D. renovamos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el contrato de alquiler — "He renews the rental contract" (present) A. renovamos B. renueva C. renuevo D. renuevas
Which is the correct present form of renovar for nosotros? A. renueva B. renuevan C. renovamos D. renuevas
Which sentence uses renovar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo renueva la suscripción a la revista B. Mi amigo renuevas la suscripción a la revista C. Mi amigo renovaba la suscripción a la revista D. Mi amigo renovamos la suscripción a la revista
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ la cocina de la casa — "You renew the kitchen of the house" (present) A. renueva B. renováis C. renuevo D. renuevas
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ su compromiso con el equipo — "They renew his commitment to the team" (present) A. renueva B. renuevan C. renuevo D. renuevas
What is the gerund of renovar? A. renové B. renovando C. renovado D. renuevo
Answer key
- renuevas — The tú form in the present is renuevas.
- renuevo — The present form for yo is renuevo.
- renueva — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is renueva.
- renovamos — The nosotros form in the present is renovamos.
- Mi amigo renueva la suscripción a la revista — Mi amigo renueva la suscripción a la revista is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- renováis — The present form for vosotros/as is renováis.
- renuevan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is renuevan.
- renovando — The gerund is renovando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle renovado.
Frequently asked questions
Is renovar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: renuevo, renuevas, renueva and renuevan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: renovamos, renováis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of renovar?
The gerund is renovando and the past participle is renovado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I renew" in the present tense?
Say renuevo. For example: Yo renuevo el pasaporte en enero — "I renew his passport in January".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of renovar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo renuevo el pasaporte en enero — "I renew his passport in January". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo renové el pasaporte en enero — "Yesterday, I renewed his passport in January". 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 renovar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- renovar 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.