Tejer Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of tejer — "to knit, to weave" 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 tejer 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. Tejer means to knit or to weave, and it covers knitting a jumper, weaving cloth and, figuratively, weaving a story or a plot. It is a regular -er verb, and it belongs with coser and bordar in the craft group. To see it in a real sentence: Él teje un jersey para el invierno. — "He/she knits a jumper for the winter." 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: tejer

Every person of tejer in the present tense. The gerund is tejiendo and the past participle is tejido.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo tejo
tú tejes
él/ella/Ud. teje
nosotros/as tejemos
vosotros/as tejéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. tejen

How the present indicative of tejer is formed

The present indicative of tejer is built from the stem tej- plus the present endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er 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 tejo
tú -es tejes
él/ella/Ud. -e teje
nosotros/as -emos tejemos
vosotros/as -éis tejéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -en tejen

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

When to use the present tense of tejer

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and tejer 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 tejer, this use looks like this: "Yo tejo un jersey para el invierno." — "I knit a jumper for the winter." 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 tejer, this use looks like this: "Él teje una bufanda de lana." — "He/she knits a woollen scarf." 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 tejer, this use looks like this: "Nosotros tejemos con agujas de punto." — "We knit with knitting needles." 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 tejer, this use looks like this: "Ellos tejen en el taller de la abuela." — "They knit in grandmother's workshop." 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 tejer, this use looks like this: "Tú tejes un jersey para el invierno." — "You knit a jumper for the winter." 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 tejer. 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 tejo un jersey para el invierno." — "I knit a jumper for the winter."
  • Preterite: "Yo tejí un jersey para el invierno." — "I knitted a jumper for the winter." 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 teje una bufanda de lana." — "He/she knits a woollen scarf."
  • Preterite: "Él tejió una bufanda de lana." — "He/she knitted a woollen scarf." 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 tejemos con agujas de punto." — "We knit with knitting needles."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros tejimos con agujas de punto." — "We knitted with knitting needles." 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 tejer in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo tejo un jersey para el invierno. — I knit a jumper for the winter.
  2. Tú tejes una bufanda de lana. — You knit a woollen scarf.
  3. Él teje con agujas de punto. — He/she knits with knitting needles.
  4. Nosotros tejemos en el taller de la abuela. — We knit in grandmother's workshop.
  5. Vosotros tejéis un jersey para el invierno. — You all knit a jumper for the winter.
  6. Ellos tejen una bufanda de lana. — They knit a woollen scarf.
  7. Yo tejo con agujas de punto. — I knit with knitting needles.
  8. Él teje en el taller de la abuela. — He/she knits in grandmother's workshop.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros tejeis una bufanda de lana. — Right: Vosotros tejéis una bufanda de lana. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: tejéis, not tejeis.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo tejo con agujas de punto. — Right: Ayer, yo tejí con agujas de punto. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (tejí), not the present (tejo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo teje un jersey para el invierno. — Right: Yo tejo un jersey para el invierno. — The person matters: teje is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is tejo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy tejido una bufanda de lana. — Right: Yo he tejido una bufanda de lana. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he tejido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un jersey para el invierno. (present tense) A. tejo B. tejes C. teje D. tejemos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ una bufanda de lana. (present tense) A. tejes B. tejo C. teje D. tejemos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ con agujas de punto. (present tense) A. teje B. tejo C. tejes D. tejemos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ en el taller de la abuela. (present tense) A. tejemos B. tejo C. tejes D. teje

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ un jersey para el invierno. (present tense) A. tejéis B. tejo C. tejes D. teje

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ una bufanda de lana. (present tense) A. tejen B. tejo C. tejes D. teje

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ con agujas de punto. (present tense) A. tejo B. tejes C. teje D. tejemos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ en el taller de la abuela. (present tense) A. teje B. tejo C. tejes D. tejemos

Answer key

  1. tejo — The yo present form of tejer is tejo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. tejes — The tu present form of tejer is tejes. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. teje — The el present form of tejer is teje. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. tejemos — The nosotros present form of tejer is tejemos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. tejéis — The vosotros present form of tejer is tejéis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. tejen — The ellos present form of tejer is tejen. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. tejo — The yo present form of tejer is tejo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. teje — The el present form of tejer is teje. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of tejer?

Use the present tense of tejer for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo tejo un jersey para el invierno. — "I knit a jumper for the winter." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of tejer formed?

Take the stem tej- and add the present endings for -er verbs. The full table is at the top of this page.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo tejo una bufanda de lana. with Yo tejí una bufanda de lana. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of tejer?

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

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