Tronar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of tronar — "to thunder" 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 tronar 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. Tronar is a weather verb, used almost only in the third person singular: truena, tronó, tronaba. It describes thunder, and it often appears with llover in descriptions of storms. To see it in a real sentence: Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night".
Present tense conjugation table: tronar
Every person of tronar in the present tense. The gerund is tronando and the past participle is tronado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | trueno |
| tú | truenas |
| él/ella/Ud. | truena |
| nosotros/as | tronamos |
| vosotros/as | tronáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | truenan |
How the present of tronar is formed
The present of tronar is built from the stem tron- 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 | trueno |
| tú | -as | truenas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | truena |
| nosotros/as | -amos | tronamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | tronáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | truenan |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis. tronar is a weather verb, so in practice you will meet it in the third person singular: truena. The other persons exist in the table above, but everyday Spanish keeps weather verbs impersonal.
The gerund of tronar is tronando and the past participle is tronado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of tronar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and tronar 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, truena toda la noche" — "Every day, It thunders all night"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Truena en la sierra" — "It thunders in the mountains"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, truena antes de la tormenta" — "Right now, It thunders before the storm"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, truena con fuerza en verano" — "Tomorrow, It thunders loudly in summer"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Truena sobre el valle" — "It thunders over the valley"
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, '}truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}tronó toda la noche — "It thundered all night"
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: {}truena en la sierra — "It thunders in the mountains"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tronaba en la sierra — "It used to thunder in the mountains"
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'}truena antes de la tormenta — "It thunders before the storm"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}tronará antes de la tormenta — "It will thunder before the storm"
Examples: tronar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show tronar in the present tense. Weather verbs are used in the third person singular, so each sentence uses that form with a different time or place phrase. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night"
- Truena en la sierra — "It thunders in the mountains"
- Truena antes de la tormenta — "It thunders before the storm"
- Truena con fuerza en verano — "It thunders loudly in summer"
- Truena sobre el valle — "It thunders over the valley"
- Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night"
- Truena en la sierra — "It thunders in the mountains"
Common mistakes with tronar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with tronar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo trono toda la noche.
✓ Correct: Yo trueno toda la noche.
tronar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is trueno, not trono.
✗ *Tú truena en la sierra.
✓ Correct: Tú truenas en la sierra.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes truenas, él takes truena.
✗ *Cada día, tronó antes de la tormenta
✓ Correct: Cada día, truena antes de la tormenta
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Espero que truena con fuerza en verano
✓ Correct: Espero que truene con fuerza en verano
After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: Espero que truene con fuerza en verano — not the indicative Espero que truena con fuerza en verano.
Quiz: tronar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of tronar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of tronar for tú? A. truena B. tronamos C. truenas D. trueno
Complete the sentence: ______ toda la noche — "It thunders all night" (present) A. truena B. tronó C. tronaba D. tronará
Complete the sentence: ______ en la sierra — "It thunders in the mountains" (present) A. tronará B. truena C. tronó D. tronaba
Which is the correct present form of tronar for nosotros? A. truenan B. tronamos C. truenas D. truena
Which sentence uses tronar correctly in the present? A. Tronó antes de la tormenta B. Tronaba antes de la tormenta C. Tronará antes de la tormenta D. Truena antes de la tormenta
Complete the sentence: ______ con fuerza en verano — "It thunders loudly in summer" (present) A. tronará B. truena C. tronó D. tronaba
Complete the sentence: ______ sobre el valle — "It thunders over the valley" (present) A. tronó B. tronaba C. tronará D. truena
What is the gerund of tronar? A. tronando B. tronado C. trueno D. troné
Answer key
- truenas — The tú form in the present is truenas.
- truena — The present form is truena.
- truena — The present form is truena.
- tronamos — The nosotros form in the present is tronamos.
- Truena antes de la tormenta — Truena antes de la tormenta is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- truena — The present form is truena.
- truena — The present form is truena.
- tronando — The gerund is tronando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle tronado.
Frequently asked questions
Is tronar regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: trueno, truenas, truena and truenan — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: tronamos, tronáis. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of tronar?
The gerund is tronando and the past participle is tronado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I thunder" in the present tense?
Say trueno. For example: Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of tronar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Truena toda la noche — "It thunders all night". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, tronó toda la noche — "Yesterday, It thundered all night". 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 tronar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- tronar 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.