Situar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of situar — "to place, to locate" 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 situar 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. Situar means to place or locate something: situar la casa en el mapa, situar el hotel cerca de la playa. It is used for places on a map and for problems in their context. To see it in a real sentence: Yo sitúo la casa en el mapa — "I place the house on the map".
Present tense conjugation table: situar
Every person of situar in the present tense. The gerund is situando and the past participle is situado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sitúo |
| tú | sitúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | sitúa |
| nosotros/as | situamos |
| vosotros/as | situáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | sitúan |
How the present of situar is formed
The present of situar is built from the stem situ- 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 | sitúo |
| tú | -as | sitúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | sitúa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | situamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | situáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | sitúan |
The gerund of situar is situando and the past participle is situado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of situar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and situar 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 sitúo la casa en el mapa" — "Every day, I place the house on the map"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo sitúa el hotel cerca de la playa" — "My friend places the hotel near the beach"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo sitúo el pueblo entre dos ríos" — "Right now, I place the village between two rivers"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros situamos el problema en su contexto" — "Tomorrow, we place the problem in its context"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos sitúan a su amigo en la empresa" — "They place his friend in the company"
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 sitúo la casa en el mapa — "I place the house on the map"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo situé la casa en el mapa — "I placed the house on the map"
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 sitúas el hotel cerca de la playa — "You place the hotel near the beach"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú situabas el hotel cerca de la playa — "You used to place the hotel near the beach"
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 sitúa el pueblo entre dos ríos — "He places the village between two rivers"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él situará el pueblo entre dos ríos — "He will place the village between two rivers"
Examples: situar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show situar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo sitúo la casa en el mapa — "I place the house on the map"
- Tú sitúas el hotel cerca de la playa — "You place the hotel near the beach"
- Él sitúa el pueblo entre dos ríos — "He places the village between two rivers"
- Nosotros situamos el problema en su contexto — "We place the problem in its context"
- Vosotros situáis a su amigo en la empresa — "You place his friend in the company"
- Ellos sitúan la casa en el mapa — "They place the house on the map"
- Yo sitúo el hotel cerca de la playa — "I place the hotel near the beach"
Common mistakes with situar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with situar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo sitúo en la casa en el mapa.
✓ Correct: Yo sitúo la casa en el mapa.
situar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo sitúo la casa en el mapa.
✗ *Tú sitúa el hotel cerca de la playa.
✓ Correct: Tú sitúas el hotel cerca de la playa.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes sitúas, él takes sitúa.
✗ *Cada día, yo situé el pueblo entre dos ríos
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo sitúo el pueblo entre dos ríos
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros situais el problema en su contexto.
✓ Correct: Vosotros situáis el problema en su contexto.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: situáis, not situais.
Quiz: situar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of situar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of situar for tú? A. sitúas B. sitúo C. sitúa D. situamos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la casa en el mapa — "I place the house on the map" (present) A. sitúo B. sitúas C. sitúa D. situamos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el hotel cerca de la playa — "He places the hotel near the beach" (present) A. sitúas B. situamos C. sitúa D. sitúo
Which is the correct present form of situar for nosotros? A. sitúas B. sitúa C. sitúan D. situamos
Which sentence uses situar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo situamos el pueblo entre dos ríos B. Mi amigo sitúa el pueblo entre dos ríos C. Mi amigo sitúas el pueblo entre dos ríos D. Mi amigo situaba el pueblo entre dos ríos
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el problema en su contexto — "You place the problem in its context" (present) A. sitúas B. sitúa C. situáis D. sitúo
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ a su amigo en la empresa — "They place his friend in the company" (present) A. sitúo B. sitúas C. sitúa D. sitúan
What is the gerund of situar? A. sitúo B. situé C. situando D. situado
Answer key
- sitúas — The tú form in the present is sitúas.
- sitúo — The present form for yo is sitúo.
- sitúa — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is sitúa.
- situamos — The nosotros form in the present is situamos.
- Mi amigo sitúa el pueblo entre dos ríos — Mi amigo sitúa el pueblo entre dos ríos is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- situáis — The present form for vosotros/as is situáis.
- sitúan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is sitúan.
- situando — The gerund is situando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle situado.
Frequently asked questions
Is situar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense situar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of situar?
The gerund is situando and the past participle is situado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I place" in the present tense?
Say sitúo. For example: Yo sitúo la casa en el mapa — "I place the house on the map".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of situar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo sitúo la casa en el mapa — "I place the house on the map". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo situé la casa en el mapa — "Yesterday, I placed the house on the map". 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 situar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- situar 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.