Sentar Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb sentar means to seat, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. 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. Like every Spanish verb, sentar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

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.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: sentar
  • English: to seat
  • Verb type: stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie)
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: sentando
  • Past participle: sentado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + sentado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for sentar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for sentar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Present indicative

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | siento | | tú | sientas | | él/ella/Ud. | sienta | | nosotros/as | sentamos | | vosotros/as | sentáis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sientan |

Preterite

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | senté | | tú | sentaste | | él/ella/Ud. | sentó | | nosotros/as | sentamos | | vosotros/as | sentasteis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sentaron |

Imperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | sentaba | | tú | sentabas | | él/ella/Ud. | sentaba | | nosotros/as | sentábamos | | vosotros/as | sentabais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sentaban |

Future

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | sentaré | | tú | sentarás | | él/ella/Ud. | sentará | | nosotros/as | sentaremos | | vosotros/as | sentaréis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sentarán |

Conditional

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | sentaría | | tú | sentarías | | él/ella/Ud. | sentaría | | nosotros/as | sentaríamos | | vosotros/as | sentaríais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sentarían |

Present perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | he sentado | | tú | has sentado | | él/ella/Ud. | ha sentado | | nosotros/as | hemos sentado | | vosotros/as | habéis sentado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | han sentado |

Pluperfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | había sentado | | tú | habías sentado | | él/ella/Ud. | había sentado | | nosotros/as | habíamos sentado | | vosotros/as | habíais sentado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían sentado |

Future perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habré sentado | | tú | habrás sentado | | él/ella/Ud. | habrá sentado | | nosotros/as | habremos sentado | | vosotros/as | habréis sentado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán sentado |

Conditional perfect

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | habría sentado | | tú | habrías sentado | | él/ella/Ud. | habría sentado | | nosotros/as | habríamos sentado | | vosotros/as | habríais sentado | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían sentado |

Present subjunctive

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | siente | | tú | sientes | | él/ella/Ud. | siente | | nosotros/as | sentemos | | vosotros/as | sentéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sienten |

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | yo | sentara | | tú | sentaras | | él/ella/Ud. | sentara | | nosotros/as | sentáramos | | vosotros/as | sentarais | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sentaran |

Imperative (affirmative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | sienta | | él/ella/Ud. | siente | | nosotros/as | sentemos | | vosotros/as | sentad | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sienten |

Imperative (negative)

| Person | Form | |---|---|---| | tú | sientes | | él/ella/Ud. | siente | | nosotros/as | sentemos | | vosotros/as | sentéis | | ellos/ellas/Uds. | sienten |

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund sentando with estar for the progressive: está sentando
Past participle sentado with haber for the perfect tenses: he sentado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. 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. For sentar, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair".

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, yo senté a los invitados en la mesa — "Yesterday, I seated the guests at the table".

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, yo sentaba al niño en sus rodillas — "As a child, I used to seat the child on his knees".

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, yo sentaré a su amigo junto a la ventana — "Tomorrow, I will seat his friend by the window".

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo sentaría a su abuela en la silla si pudiera — "I would seat his grandmother in the chair if I could".

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, yo he sentado a los invitados en la mesa — "Today, I have seated the guests at the table".

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo ya había sentado al niño en sus rodillas antes de salir — "I already had seated the child on his knees before leaving".

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, yo habré sentado a su amigo junto a la ventana — "By tomorrow, I will have seated his friend by the window".

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo habría sentado a su abuela en la silla con más tiempo — "I would have seated his grandmother in the chair with more time".

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. 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. For sentar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él siente a los invitados en la mesa — "I hope he seats the guests at the table".

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past. The -ra forms are shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For sentar, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo sentara al niño en sus rodillas, todo cambiaría — "If I seated the child on his knees, everything would change".

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. 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. For sentar, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Sienta a su amigo junto a la ventana. — "Seat his friend by the window.".

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. 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. For sentar, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No sientes a su abuela en la silla. — "Do not seat his grandmother in the chair.".

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with sentar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair"
  2. Mi amigo sienta a los invitados en la mesa — "My friend seats the guests at the table"
  3. Ayer, yo senté al niño en sus rodillas — "Yesterday, I seated the child on his knees"
  4. Antes, nosotros sentábamos a su amigo junto a la ventana — "Before, we used to seat his friend by the window"
  5. Mañana, tú sentarás a su hijo en la silla alta — "Tomorrow, you will seat his son in the high chair"
  6. Yo sentaría a su abuela en la silla si tuviera más tiempo — "I would seat his grandmother in the chair if I had more time"
  7. Él ha sentado a los invitados en la mesa — "He has seated the guests at the table"
  8. Espero que él siente al niño en sus rodillas — "I hope he seats the child on his knees"
  9. Yo ya había sentado a su amigo junto a la ventana antes de salir — "I already had seated his friend by the window before leaving"
  10. Ellos sentaban a su hijo en la silla alta cuando eran jóvenes — "They used to seat his son in the high chair when they were young"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo sento a los invitados en la mesa. — Right: Yo siento a los invitados en la mesa. — 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.
  2. Wrong: Espero que él sienta a los invitados en la mesa — Right: Espero que él siente a los invitados en la mesa — After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que él siente a los invitados en la mesa — not the indicative Espero que él sienta a los invitados en la mesa.
  3. Wrong: Ayer, yo siento al niño en sus rodillas — Right: Ayer, yo senté al niño en sus rodillas — Ayer points to a finished action in the past, so it needs the preterite: Ayer, yo senté al niño en sus rodillas.
  4. Wrong: De niño, yo senté a su amigo junto a la ventana todos los días — Right: De niño, yo sentaba a su amigo junto a la ventana todos los días — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect, not the preterite: De niño, yo sentaba a su amigo junto a la ventana todos los días.
  5. Wrong: Yo siento su abuela en la silla. — Right: Yo siento a su abuela en la silla. — sentar takes a before this complement: Yo siento a su abuela en la silla. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on sentar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. 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

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ______ a los invitados en la mesa — "He seated the guests at the table" (preterite) A. sentó B. senté C. sentaste D. sentamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ al niño en sus rodillas — "We used to seat the child on his knees" (imperfect) A. sentabais B. sentábamos C. sentaba D. sentabas

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú ______ a su amigo junto a la ventana — "You will seat his friend by the window" (future) A. sentarás B. sentaré C. sentará D. sentaremos

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo ______ a su hijo en la silla alta — "I would seat his son in the high chair" (conditional) A. sentaríamos B. sentaríais C. sentaría D. sentarías

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ______ a su abuela en la silla — "I hope he seats his grandmother in the chair" (present subjunctive) A. sientes B. sentemos C. sentéis D. siente

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo ______ a los invitados en la mesa, todo cambiaría — "If I seated the guests at the table, everything would change" (imperfect subjunctive) A. sentara B. sentaras C. sentáramos D. sentarais

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ______ al niño en sus rodillas — "We have seated the child on his knees" (present perfect) A. ha sentado B. hemos sentado C. he sentado D. has sentado

  9. Complete the sentence: No ______ a su amigo junto a la ventana. — "Do not seat his friend by the window." (negative imperative) A. sientes B. siente C. sentemos D. sentéis

  10. Which is the gerund of sentar, used with estar for the progressive? A. senté B. sentando C. sentado D. siento

Answer key

  1. siento — The present form for yo is siento.
  2. sentó — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is sentó.
  3. sentábamos — The imperfect form for nosotros/as is sentábamos.
  4. sentarás — The future form for tú is sentarás.
  5. sentaría — The conditional form for yo is sentaría.
  6. siente — The present subjunctive form for él/ella/Ud. is siente.
  7. sentara — The imperfect subjunctive form for yo is sentara.
  8. hemos sentado — The present perfect form for nosotros/as is hemos sentado.
  9. sientes — The negative imperative form is sientes.
  10. sentando — The gerund of sentar is sentando: estoy sentando. The participle sentado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does sentar mean in English?

sentar means to seat. It is used in everyday situations such as Yo siento a su abuela en la silla — "I seat his grandmother in the chair". The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is sentar regular?

No. sentar is a stem-changing -ar verb (e → ie). 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, which is the part learners most often get right by accident.

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 I say "I seat" in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Ayer, yo senté a los invitados en la mesa — "Yesterday, I seated the guests at the table". For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: De niño, yo sentaba al niño en sus rodillas — "As a child, I used to seat the child on his knees". For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Hoy, yo he sentado a los invitados en la mesa — "Today, I have seated the guests at the table".

What is the difference between sentar and sentarse?

Sentarse is to sit down yourself: me siento en la silla. Sentar without the pronoun seats someone else. 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.

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