Sonar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of sonar — "to sound, to ring" 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 sonar 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. Sonar means to sound or to ring: suena el teléfono, suena la campana. It also means to sound like something: suena bien means it sounds good. Do not confuse it with soñar, to dream — one vowel changes the meaning completely. To see it in a real sentence: Yo sueno el teléfono en la cocina — "I ring the telephone in the kitchen".
Present tense conjugation table: sonar
Every person of sonar in the present tense. The gerund is sonando and the past participle is sonado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | sueno |
| tú | suenas |
| él/ella/Ud. | suena |
| nosotros/as | sonamos |
| vosotros/as | sonáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | suenan |
How the present of sonar is formed
The present of sonar is built from the stem son- 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 | sueno |
| tú | -as | suenas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | suena |
| nosotros/as | -amos | sonamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | sonáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | suenan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: sueno, suenas, suena and suenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: sonamos, sonáis.
The gerund of sonar is sonando and the past participle is sonado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of sonar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and sonar 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 sueno el teléfono en la cocina" — "Every day, I ring the telephone in the kitchen"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo suena la campana de la iglesia" — "My friend rings the church bell"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo sueno la alarma a las siete" — "Right now, I ring the alarm at seven"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros sonamos la música en la calle" — "Tomorrow, we ring the music in the street"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos suenan el timbre de la puerta" — "They ring the doorbell"
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 sueno el teléfono en la cocina — "I ring the telephone in the kitchen"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo soné el teléfono en la cocina — "I rang the telephone in the kitchen"
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 suenas la campana de la iglesia — "You ring the church bell"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú sonabas la campana de la iglesia — "You used to ring the church bell"
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 suena la alarma a las siete — "He rings the alarm at seven"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él sonará la alarma a las siete — "He will ring the alarm at seven"
Examples: sonar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show sonar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo sueno el teléfono en la cocina — "I ring the telephone in the kitchen"
- Tú suenas la campana de la iglesia — "You ring the church bell"
- Él suena la alarma a las siete — "He rings the alarm at seven"
- Nosotros sonamos la música en la calle — "We ring the music in the street"
- Vosotros sonáis el timbre de la puerta — "You ring the doorbell"
- Ellos suenan el teléfono en la cocina — "They ring the telephone in the kitchen"
- Yo sueno la campana de la iglesia — "I ring the church bell"
Common mistakes with sonar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with sonar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo sono el teléfono en la cocina.
✓ Correct: Yo sueno el teléfono en la cocina.
sonar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is sueno, not sono.
✗ *Tú suena la campana de la iglesia.
✓ Correct: Tú suenas la campana de la iglesia.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes suenas, él takes suena.
✗ *Cada día, yo soné la alarma a las siete
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo sueno la alarma a las siete
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros sonais la música en la calle.
✓ Correct: Vosotros sonáis la música en la calle.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: sonáis, not sonais.
Quiz: sonar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of sonar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of sonar for tú? A. sonamos B. suenas C. sueno D. suena
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el teléfono en la cocina — "I ring the telephone in the kitchen" (present) A. sonamos B. sueno C. suenas D. suena
Complete the sentence: Él ______ la campana de la iglesia — "He rings the church bell" (present) A. sueno B. suenas C. sonamos D. suena
Which is the correct present form of sonar for nosotros? A. sonamos B. suenas C. suena D. suenan
Which sentence uses sonar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo sonaba la alarma a las siete B. Mi amigo sonamos la alarma a las siete C. Mi amigo suena la alarma a las siete D. Mi amigo suenas la alarma a las siete
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ la música en la calle — "You ring the music in the street" (present) A. suena B. sonáis C. sueno D. suenas
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el timbre de la puerta — "They ring the doorbell" (present) A. sueno B. suenas C. suena D. suenan
What is the gerund of sonar? A. sonado B. sueno C. soné D. sonando
Answer key
- suenas — The tú form in the present is suenas.
- sueno — The present form for yo is sueno.
- suena — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is suena.
- sonamos — The nosotros form in the present is sonamos.
- Mi amigo suena la alarma a las siete — Mi amigo suena la alarma a las siete is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- sonáis — The present form for vosotros/as is sonáis.
- suenan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is suenan.
- sonando — The gerund is sonando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle sonado.
Frequently asked questions
Is sonar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: sueno, suenas, suena and suenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: sonamos, sonáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of sonar?
The gerund is sonando and the past participle is sonado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I ring" in the present tense?
Say sueno. For example: Yo sueno el teléfono en la cocina — "I ring the telephone in the kitchen".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of sonar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo sueno el teléfono en la cocina — "I ring the telephone in the kitchen". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo soné el teléfono en la cocina — "Yesterday, I rang the telephone in the kitchen". 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 sonar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- sonar 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.