Turbar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of turbar — “to disturb, to upset” 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 turbar 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. Turbar means to disturb or to upset, and it is used when something breaks a calm state — a noise disturbs the silence, bad news disturbs a family, doubt disturbs a person's peace of mind. It is a formal, literary verb, more common in writing and in serious speech than in everyday chat, where molestar or preocupar are more frequent. Turbar is a regular -ar verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa.

Present tense conjugation table: turbar

Every person of turbar in the present tense. The gerund is turbando and the past participle is turbado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo turbo
tú turbas
él/ella/Ud. turba
nosotros/as turbamos
vosotros/as turbáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. turban

How the present of turbar is formed

The present of turbar is built from the stem turb- 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 turbo
tú -as turbas
él/ella/Ud. -a turba
nosotros/as -amos turbamos
vosotros/as -áis turbáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an turban

For turbar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem turb- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with turbar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. — I disturb the peace of the house.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella turba el silencio de la noche. — He disturbs the silence of the night.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as turbamos la paz del barrio. — Right now, We disturb the peace of the neighbourhood.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú turbas el sueño de los niños. — Tomorrow, You disturb the children's sleep.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella turba la tranquilidad de la casa. — He disturbs the peace of the house.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with turbar.

  1. Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. — I disturb the peace of the house. / Ayer, Yo turbé la tranquilidad de la casa. — Yesterday, I disturbed the peace of the house.
  2. Yo turbo el silencio de la noche. — I disturb the silence of the night. / Ayer, Yo turbé el silencio de la noche. — Yesterday, I disturbed the silence of the night.
  3. Yo turbo la paz del barrio. — I disturb the peace of the neighbourhood. / Ayer, Yo turbé la paz del barrio. — Yesterday, I disturbed the peace of the neighbourhood.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with turbar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. — I disturb the peace of the house.
  2. Tú turbas el silencio de la noche. — You disturb the silence of the night.
  3. Él/Ella turba la paz del barrio. — He disturbs the peace of the neighbourhood.
  4. Nosotros/as turbamos el sueño de los niños. — We disturb the children's sleep.
  5. Vosotros/as turbáis la tranquilidad de la casa. — You disturb the peace of the house.
  6. Ellos/as turban el silencio de la noche. — They disturb the silence of the night.
  7. Yo turbo la paz del barrio. — I disturb the peace of the neighbourhood.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo turba la tranquilidad de la casa. — Right: Yo turbo la tranquilidad de la casa. — The person matters: turba is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is turbo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo turbo el silencio de la noche. — Right: Ayer, yo turbé el silencio de la noche. — With ayer, use the preterite (turbé), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using turbar where perturbar belongs. — Right: Turbar means to disturb, to upset, while perturbar means to perturb, to disturb someone's mind. — Check the meaning before you choose: turbar fits Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él turba el silencio de la noche. — Right: Espero que él turbe el silencio de la noche. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: turbe, not the present indicative turba.

Quiz: the present tense of turbar

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la tranquilidad de la casa. (present tense, yo) A. turbo B. turbas C. turba D. turbamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el silencio de la noche. (present tense, tú) A. turbo B. turba C. turbamos D. turbas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ la paz del barrio. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. turbas B. turbamos C. turba D. turbo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ el sueño de los niños. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. turba B. turbamos C. turbo D. turbas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ la tranquilidad de la casa. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. turbáis B. turbo C. turbas D. turba

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ el silencio de la noche. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. turbo B. turbas C. turba D. turban

  7. Which is the gerund of turbar? A. turbo B. turbé C. turbando D. turbado

  8. Which is the past participle of turbar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. turbé B. turbado C. turbando D. turbo

Answer key

  1. turbo — The yo present form of turbar is turbo.
  2. turbas — The tú present form of turbar is turbas.
  3. turba — The él/ella/Ud. present form of turbar is turba.
  4. turbamos — The nosotros/as present form of turbar is turbamos.
  5. turbáis — The vosotros/as present form of turbar is turbáis.
  6. turban — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of turbar is turban.
  7. turbando — The gerund of turbar is turbando: estoy turbando.
  8. turbado — The past participle of turbar is turbado: he turbado, has turbado, ha turbado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of turbar formed?

Take the infinitive turbar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem turb-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of turbar is fully regular: the stem turb- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of turbar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Turbo la tranquilidad de la casa.

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

The present (turbo) and the preterite (turbé) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of turbar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of turbar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the turbar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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