Teñir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of teñir — "to dye" 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 teñir 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. Teñir means to dye: teñir el pelo de rojo, teñir la tela de azul. The colour goes after de: teñir el pelo de rojo, not en rojo. To see it in a real sentence: Yo tiño el pelo de rojo — "I dye her hair red".
Present tense conjugation table: teñir
Every person of teñir in the present tense. The gerund is tiñiendo and the past participle is teñido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | tiño |
| tú | tiñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | tiñe |
| nosotros/as | teñimos |
| vosotros/as | teñís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | tiñen |
How the present of teñir is formed
The present of teñir is built from the stem teñ- 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 | tiño |
| tú | -es | tiñes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | tiñe |
| nosotros/as | -imos | teñimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | teñís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | tiñen |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: tiño, tiñes, tiñe and tiñen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: teñimos, teñís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: tiñió, tiñieron, and the gerund is tiñiendo.
The gerund of teñir is tiñiendo and the past participle is teñido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of teñir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and teñir 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 tiño el pelo de rojo" — "Every day, I dye her hair red"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo tiñe la tela de azul" — "My friend dyes the fabric blue"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo tiño una camiseta en casa" — "Right now, I dye a T-shirt at home"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros teñimos el cabello con henna" — "Tomorrow, we dye her hair with henna"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos tiñen la lana para el jersey" — "They dye the wool for the jumper"
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 tiño el pelo de rojo — "I dye her hair red"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo teñí el pelo de rojo — "I dyed her hair red"
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 tiñes la tela de azul — "You dye the fabric blue"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú teñías la tela de azul — "You used to dye the fabric blue"
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 tiñe una camiseta en casa — "He dyes a T-shirt at home"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él teñirá una camiseta en casa — "He will dye a T-shirt at home"
Examples: teñir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show teñir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo tiño el pelo de rojo — "I dye her hair red"
- Tú tiñes la tela de azul — "You dye the fabric blue"
- Él tiñe una camiseta en casa — "He dyes a T-shirt at home"
- Nosotros teñimos el cabello con henna — "We dye her hair with henna"
- Vosotros teñís la lana para el jersey — "You dye the wool for the jumper"
- Ellos tiñen el pelo de rojo — "They dye her hair red"
- Yo tiño la tela de azul — "I dye the fabric blue"
Common mistakes with teñir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with teñir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo teño el pelo de rojo.
✓ Correct: Yo tiño el pelo de rojo.
teñir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is tiño, not teño.
✗ *Tú tiñe la tela de azul.
✓ Correct: Tú tiñes la tela de azul.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes tiñes, él takes tiñe.
✗ *Cada día, yo teñí una camiseta en casa
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo tiño una camiseta en casa
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros teñis el cabello con henna.
✓ Correct: Vosotros teñís el cabello con henna.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: teñís, not teñis.
Quiz: teñir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of teñir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of teñir for tú? A. tiño B. tiñe C. teñimos D. tiñes
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ el pelo de rojo — "I dye her hair red" (present) A. tiñe B. teñimos C. tiño D. tiñes
Complete the sentence: Él ______ la tela de azul — "He dyes the fabric blue" (present) A. tiñe B. tiño C. tiñes D. teñimos
Which is the correct present form of teñir for nosotros? A. tiñe B. tiñen C. teñimos D. tiñes
Which sentence uses teñir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo tiñe una camiseta en casa B. Mi amigo tiñes una camiseta en casa C. Mi amigo teñía una camiseta en casa D. Mi amigo teñimos una camiseta en casa
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ el cabello con henna — "You dye her hair with henna" (present) A. tiño B. tiñes C. tiñe D. teñís
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la lana para el jersey — "They dye the wool for the jumper" (present) A. tiño B. tiñes C. tiñe D. tiñen
What is the gerund of teñir? A. teñí B. tiñiendo C. teñido D. tiño
Answer key
- tiñes — The tú form in the present is tiñes.
- tiño — The present form for yo is tiño.
- tiñe — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is tiñe.
- teñimos — The nosotros form in the present is teñimos.
- Mi amigo tiñe una camiseta en casa — Mi amigo tiñe una camiseta en casa is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- teñís — The present form for vosotros/as is teñís.
- tiñen — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is tiñen.
- tiñiendo — The gerund is tiñiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle teñido.
Frequently asked questions
Is teñir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: tiño, tiñes, tiñe and tiñen — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: teñimos, teñís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: tiñió, tiñieron, and the gerund is tiñiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of teñir?
The gerund is tiñiendo and the past participle is teñido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I dye" in the present tense?
Say tiño. For example: Yo tiño el pelo de rojo — "I dye her hair red".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of teñir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo tiño el pelo de rojo — "I dye her hair red". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo teñí el pelo de rojo — "Yesterday, I dyed her hair red". 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 teñir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- teñir 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.