Rezar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of rezar — "to pray" 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 rezar 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. Rezar means to pray, and it is used for praying at night before sleeping, praying in church on Sundays and praying for a sick family. It is a spelling-change verb: the z becomes c before e, so the preterite is recé. To see it in a real sentence: Él reza por la noche antes de dormir. — "He/she prays at night before sleeping." 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: rezar

Every person of rezar in the present tense. The gerund is rezando and the past participle is rezado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo rezo
tú rezas
él/ella/Ud. reza
nosotros/as rezamos
vosotros/as rezáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rezan

How the present indicative of rezar is formed

The present indicative of rezar is built from the stem rez- 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 rezo
tú -as rezas
él/ella/Ud. -a reza
nosotros/as -amos rezamos
vosotros/as -áis rezáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an rezan

rezar is a spelling-change verb: z becomes c before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form rezo in particular.

The gerund of rezar is rezando and the past participle is rezado. 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 rezar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and rezar 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 rezar, this use looks like this: "Yo rezo por la noche antes de dormir." — "I pray at night before sleeping." 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 rezar, this use looks like this: "Él reza en la iglesia los domingos." — "He/she prays in church on Sundays." 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 rezar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros rezamos por su familia enferma." — "We pray for his sick family." 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 rezar, this use looks like this: "Ellos rezan el rosario con su abuela." — "They pray the rosary with his grandmother." 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 rezar, this use looks like this: "Tú rezas por la noche antes de dormir." — "You pray at night before sleeping." 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 rezar. 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 rezo por la noche antes de dormir." — "I pray at night before sleeping."
  • Preterite: "Yo recé por la noche antes de dormir." — "I prayed at night before sleeping." 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 reza en la iglesia los domingos." — "He/she prays in church on Sundays."
  • Preterite: "Él rezó en la iglesia los domingos." — "He/she prayed in church on Sundays." 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 rezamos por su familia enferma." — "We pray for his sick family."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros rezamos por su familia enferma." — "We prayed for his sick family." 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 rezar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo rezo por la noche antes de dormir. — I pray at night before sleeping.
  2. Tú rezas en la iglesia los domingos. — You pray in church on Sundays.
  3. Él reza por su familia enferma. — He/she prays for his sick family.
  4. Nosotros rezamos el rosario con su abuela. — We pray the rosary with his grandmother.
  5. Vosotros rezáis por la noche antes de dormir. — You all pray at night before sleeping.
  6. Ellos rezan en la iglesia los domingos. — They pray in church on Sundays.
  7. Yo rezo por su familia enferma. — I pray for his sick family.
  8. Él reza el rosario con su abuela. — He/she prays the rosary with his grandmother.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros rezais en la iglesia los domingos. — Right: Vosotros rezáis en la iglesia los domingos. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: rezáis, not rezais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo rezo por su familia enferma. — Right: Ayer, yo recé por su familia enferma. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (recé), not the present (rezo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo reza por la noche antes de dormir. — Right: Yo rezo por la noche antes de dormir. — The person matters: reza is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is rezo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy rezado en la iglesia los domingos. — Right: Yo he rezado en la iglesia los domingos. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he rezado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ por la noche antes de dormir. (present tense) A. rezo B. rezas C. reza D. rezamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ en la iglesia los domingos. (present tense) A. rezas B. rezo C. reza D. rezamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ por su familia enferma. (present tense) A. reza B. rezo C. rezas D. rezamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el rosario con su abuela. (present tense) A. rezamos B. rezo C. rezas D. reza

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ por la noche antes de dormir. (present tense) A. rezáis B. rezo C. rezas D. reza

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ en la iglesia los domingos. (present tense) A. rezan B. rezo C. rezas D. reza

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ por su familia enferma. (present tense) A. rezo B. rezas C. reza D. rezamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el rosario con su abuela. (present tense) A. reza B. rezo C. rezas D. rezamos

Answer key

  1. rezo — The yo present form of rezar is rezo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. rezas — The tu present form of rezar is rezas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. reza — The el present form of rezar is reza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. rezamos — The nosotros present form of rezar is rezamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. rezáis — The vosotros present form of rezar is rezáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. rezan — The ellos present form of rezar is rezan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. rezo — The yo present form of rezar is rezo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. reza — The el present form of rezar is reza. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of rezar?

Use the present tense of rezar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo rezo por la noche antes de dormir. — "I pray at night before sleeping." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of rezar formed?

Take the stem rez- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: z becomes c before e.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo rezo en la iglesia los domingos. with Yo recé en la iglesia los domingos. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of rezar?

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

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