Sentar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of sentar — "to seat" 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 sentar 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. Sentar means to seat someone: sentar a su abuela en la silla. For sitting down yourself, Spanish uses sentarse. Sentar bien or mal means for clothes or food to suit someone or agree with them. To see it in a real sentence: Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair".
Present tense conjugation table: sentar
Every person of sentar in the present tense. The gerund is sentando and the past participle is sentado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | siento |
| tú | sientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sienta |
| nosotros/as | sentamos |
| vosotros/as | sentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sientan |
How the present of sentar is formed
The present of sentar is built from the stem sent- 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 | siento |
| tú | -as | sientas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | sienta |
| nosotros/as | -amos | sentamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | sentáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | sientan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: siento, sientas, sienta and sientan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: sentamos, sentáis.
The gerund of sentar is sentando and the past participle is sentado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of sentar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and sentar 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 siento a su abuela en la silla" — "Every day, I seat his grandmother in the chair"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo sienta a los invitados en la mesa" — "My friend seats the guests at the table"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo siento al niño en sus rodillas" — "Right now, I seat the child on his knees"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros sentamos a su amigo junto a la ventana" — "Tomorrow, we seat his friend by the window"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos sientan a su hijo en la silla alta" — "They seat his son in the high chair"
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 siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo senté a su abuela en la silla — "I seated his grandmother in the chair"
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 sientas a los invitados en la mesa — "You seat the guests at the table"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú sentabas a los invitados en la mesa — "You used to seat the guests at the table"
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 sienta al niño en sus rodillas — "He seats the child on his knees"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él sentará al niño en sus rodillas — "He will seat the child on his knees"
Examples: sentar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show sentar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair"
- Tú sientas a los invitados en la mesa — "You seat the guests at the table"
- Él sienta al niño en sus rodillas — "He seats the child on his knees"
- Nosotros sentamos a su amigo junto a la ventana — "We seat his friend by the window"
- Vosotros sentáis a su hijo en la silla alta — "You seat his son in the high chair"
- Ellos sientan a su abuela en la silla — "They seat his grandmother in the chair"
- Yo siento a los invitados en la mesa — "I seat the guests at the table"
Common mistakes with sentar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with sentar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo sento a su abuela en la silla.
✓ Correct: Yo siento a su abuela en la silla.
sentar is a stem-changing verb (e → ie): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is siento, not sento.
✗ *Tú sienta a los invitados en la mesa.
✓ Correct: Tú sientas a los invitados en la mesa.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes sientas, él takes sienta.
✗ *Cada día, yo senté al niño en sus rodillas
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo siento al niño en sus rodillas
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros sentais a su amigo junto a la ventana.
✓ Correct: Vosotros sentáis a su amigo junto a la ventana.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: sentáis, not sentais.
Quiz: sentar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of sentar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of sentar for tú? A. siento B. sienta C. sentamos D. sientas
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair" (present) A. sientas B. sienta C. sentamos D. siento
Complete the sentence: Él ______ a los invitados en la mesa — "He seats the guests at the table" (present) A. sentamos B. sienta C. siento D. sientas
Which is the correct present form of sentar for nosotros? A. sienta B. sientan C. sentamos D. sientas
Which sentence uses sentar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo sienta al niño en sus rodillas B. Mi amigo sientas al niño en sus rodillas C. Mi amigo sentaba al niño en sus rodillas D. Mi amigo sentamos al niño en sus rodillas
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ a su amigo junto a la ventana — "You seat his friend by the window" (present) A. sienta B. sentáis C. siento D. sientas
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a su hijo en la silla alta — "They seat his son in the high chair" (present) A. sientan B. siento C. sientas D. sienta
What is the gerund of sentar? A. senté B. sentando C. sentado D. siento
Answer key
- sientas — The tú form in the present is sientas.
- siento — The present form for yo is siento.
- sienta — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is sienta.
- sentamos — The nosotros form in the present is sentamos.
- Mi amigo sienta al niño en sus rodillas — Mi amigo sienta al niño en sus rodillas is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- sentáis — The present form for vosotros/as is sentáis.
- sientan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is sientan.
- sentando — The gerund is sentando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle sentado.
Frequently asked questions
Is sentar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: siento, sientas, sienta and sientan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: sentamos, sentáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of sentar?
The gerund is sentando and the past participle is sentado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I seat" in the present tense?
Say siento. For example: Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of sentar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo senté a su abuela en la silla — "Yesterday, I seated his grandmother in the chair". 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 sentar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- sentar 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.