Sugerir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of sugerir — "to suggest" 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 sugerir 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. Sugerir means to suggest, and it is used for suggesting a plan, another date and a restaurant, and for suggesting that someone do something, with que plus the subjunctive. It is a stem-changing -ir verb with the same e to ie and e to i pattern as advertir. To see it in a real sentence: Él sugiere un plan para el fin de semana. — "He/she suggests a plan for the weekend." 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: sugerir

Every person of sugerir in the present tense. The gerund is sugiriendo and the past participle is sugerido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo sugiero
tú sugieres
él/ella/Ud. sugiere
nosotros/as sugerimos
vosotros/as sugerís
ellos/ellas/Uds. sugieren

How the present indicative of sugerir is formed

The present indicative of sugerir is built from the stem suger- plus the present endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir 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 sugiero
tú -es sugieres
él/ella/Ud. -e sugiere
nosotros/as -imos sugerimos
vosotros/as -ís sugerís
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en sugieren

sugerir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the singular and third-person plural forms of the present, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem. In this tense the first-person form is sugiero, and the nosotros form is sugerimos.

The gerund of sugerir is sugiriendo and the past participle is sugerido. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

This tense is irregular for sugerir, so the forms in the table above are the ones to learn — do not try to derive them from the regular endings. sugerir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural forms, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.

When to use the present tense of sugerir

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and sugerir 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 sugerir, this use looks like this: "Yo sugiero un plan para el fin de semana." — "I suggest a plan for the weekend." 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 sugerir, this use looks like this: "Él sugiere otra fecha para la reunión." — "He/she suggests another date for the meeting." 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 sugerir, this use looks like this: "Nosotros sugerimos un restaurante en el centro." — "We suggest a restaurant in the centre." 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 sugerir, this use looks like this: "Ellos sugieren que salgamos más temprano." — "They suggest that we leave earlier." 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 sugerir, this use looks like this: "Tú sugieres un plan para el fin de semana." — "You suggest a plan for the weekend." 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 sugerir. 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 sugiero un plan para el fin de semana." — "I suggest a plan for the weekend."
  • Preterite: "Yo sugerí un plan para el fin de semana." — "I suggested a plan for the weekend." 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 sugiere otra fecha para la reunión." — "He/she suggests another date for the meeting."
  • Preterite: "Él sugirió otra fecha para la reunión." — "He/she suggested another date for the meeting." 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 sugerimos un restaurante en el centro." — "We suggest a restaurant in the centre."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros sugerimos un restaurante en el centro." — "We suggested a restaurant in the centre." 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 sugerir in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo sugiero un plan para el fin de semana. — I suggest a plan for the weekend.
  2. Tú sugieres otra fecha para la reunión. — You suggest another date for the meeting.
  3. Él sugiere un restaurante en el centro. — He/she suggests a restaurant in the centre.
  4. Nosotros sugerimos que salgamos más temprano. — We suggest that we leave earlier.
  5. Vosotros sugerís un plan para el fin de semana. — You all suggest a plan for the weekend.
  6. Ellos sugieren otra fecha para la reunión. — They suggest another date for the meeting.
  7. Yo sugiero un restaurante en el centro. — I suggest a restaurant in the centre.
  8. Él sugiere que salgamos más temprano. — He/she suggests that we leave earlier.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo sugero otra fecha para la reunión. — Right: Yo sugiero otra fecha para la reunión. — In the present, the correct first-person form is sugiero, not sugero. sugerir is a stem-changing verb (e → ie), so the stem changes in the present singular and third-person plural forms, while nosotros and vosotros keep the original stem.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo sugiero un restaurante en el centro. — Right: Ayer, yo sugerí un restaurante en el centro. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (sugerí), not the present (sugiero). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo sugiere un plan para el fin de semana. — Right: Yo sugiero un plan para el fin de semana. — The person matters: sugiere is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is sugiero.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy sugerido otra fecha para la reunión. — Right: Yo he sugerido otra fecha para la reunión. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he sugerido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un plan para el fin de semana. (present tense) A. sugiero B. sugieres C. sugiere D. sugerimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ otra fecha para la reunión. (present tense) A. sugieres B. sugiero C. sugiere D. sugerimos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ un restaurante en el centro. (present tense) A. sugiere B. sugiero C. sugieres D. sugerimos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ que salgamos más temprano. (present tense) A. sugerimos B. sugiero C. sugieres D. sugiere

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ un plan para el fin de semana. (present tense) A. sugerís B. sugiero C. sugieres D. sugiere

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ otra fecha para la reunión. (present tense) A. sugieren B. sugiero C. sugieres D. sugiere

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un restaurante en el centro. (present tense) A. sugiero B. sugieres C. sugiere D. sugerimos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ que salgamos más temprano. (present tense) A. sugiere B. sugiero C. sugieres D. sugerimos

Answer key

  1. sugiero — The yo present form of sugerir is sugiero. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. sugieres — The tu present form of sugerir is sugieres. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. sugiere — The el present form of sugerir is sugiere. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. sugerimos — The nosotros present form of sugerir is sugerimos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. sugerís — The vosotros present form of sugerir is sugerís. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. sugieren — The ellos present form of sugerir is sugieren. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. sugiero — The yo present form of sugerir is sugiero. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. sugiere — The el present form of sugerir is sugiere. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of sugerir?

Use the present tense of sugerir for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo sugiero un plan para el fin de semana. — "I suggest a plan for the weekend." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of sugerir formed?

Take the stem suger- and add the present endings for -ir verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the stem change: the singular and third-person plural forms change the stem vowel.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo sugiero otra fecha para la reunión. with Yo sugerí otra fecha para la reunión. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of sugerir?

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

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