Unir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of unir — “to join, to unite” 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 unir 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. Unir means to join or to unite, and it covers joining two pieces, uniting people and joining a club: unir las piezas, unir a la familia. It is a regular -ir verb. Its reflexive partner unirse means to join a group yourself. To see it in a real sentence: Uno las piezas del puzzle. — “I join the puzzle pieces.”
Present tense conjugation table: unir
Every person of unir in the present tense. The gerund is uniendo and the past participle is unido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | uno |
| tú | unes |
| él/ella/Ud. | une |
| nosotros/as | unimos |
| vosotros/as | unís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | unen |
The gerund is uniendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy uniendo” means the action of unir is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is unido, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he unido” is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the present is only one part of how unir is used.
How the present of unir is formed
The present of unir is built from the stem un 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 | uno |
| tú | -es | unes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | une |
| nosotros/as | -imos | unimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | unís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | unen |
unir is a regular -ir verb in the present, so the table above is completely regular. The stem is un and the endings are the normal -ir endings, so there are no surprises to memorise in this tense — the challenge is only using the forms naturally.
The gerund of unir is uniendo and the past participle is unido. Both are the forms you need for the progressive and the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present of unir
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use unir in the present most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. A routine or habit
The present tense of unir is the tense for what happens regularly. When something is part of your routine, your week or your normal life, the present is the right choice, and unir is no exception. The time words that go with it are todos los días, cada semana, siempre and a menudo.
Example: “Uno las piezas del puzzle.” — I join the puzzle pieces.
2. A general fact
The present tense also states facts that are true in general, not just today. When you describe what unir means in the world — what it does, who it affects, how it works — the present is the tense to use. There is no time limit on the statement, so no past or future form is needed.
Example: “Une a la familia en Navidad.” — He/she joins the family at Christmas.
3. Something happening right now
The present tense describes what is happening at this very moment. You do not need the progressive (estar plus the gerund) to say what is going on now: the simple present does the job in Spanish, and it is the more common choice in everyday speech.
Example: “Uno dos cables con cinta.” — I join two cables with tape.
4. A plan or arrangement
Spanish uses the present tense for plans that are already fixed, especially with a time expression such as mañana or el lunes. When the arrangement is made, the present tense states it as a fact, and unir follows the same rule as every other verb.
Example: “Mañana, nosotros unimos los puntos con una línea.” — Tomorrow, we join the dots with a line.
5. Asking and answering questions
Questions in the present tense ask about routines, facts and what is happening now. The answer uses the same tense, so a question and its answer stay in the present together. This is the pattern you will hear most often in conversation.
Example: “¿Unes a la familia en Navidad?” — Do you join the family at Christmas?
The present vs the preterite: how to choose
The closest tense to the present is the preterite, and choosing between them is one of the first decisions in Spanish. The rule is simple: the present reports what happens now, what happens regularly, or what is generally true, while the preterite reports one finished action in the past. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is whether the action is happening now or is already finished. Time words help: ahora and todos los días point to the present, while ayer and anoche point to the preterite.
Present: “Uno las piezas del puzzle.” — I join the puzzle pieces.
Preterite: “Uní las piezas del puzzle.” — I joined the puzzle pieces.
The present sentence describes what happens now or regularly; the preterite sentence reports one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.
Present: “Une a la familia en Navidad.” — He/she joins the family at Christmas.
Preterite: “Unió a la familia en Navidad.” — He/she joined the family at Christmas.
The present sentence describes what happens now or regularly; the preterite sentence reports one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.
Present: “Unimos dos cables con cinta.” — We join two cables with tape.
Preterite: “Unimos dos cables con cinta.” — We joined two cables with tape.
The present sentence describes what happens now or regularly; the preterite sentence reports one finished action in the past. That difference — now versus finished — is the whole decision.
Example sentences: unir in the present
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other verbs — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
“Uno las piezas del puzzle.” — I join the puzzle pieces.
“Unes a la familia en Navidad.” — You join the family at Christmas.
“Une dos cables con cinta.” — He/she joins two cables with tape.
“Unimos los puntos con una línea.” — We join the dots with a line.
“Unís las piezas del puzzle.” — You join the puzzle pieces.
“Unen a la familia en Navidad.” — They join the family at Christmas.
“Uno dos cables con cinta.” — I join two cables with tape.
“Une los puntos con una línea.” — He/she joins the dots with a line.
Common mistakes with unir in the present
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo une las piezas del puzzle.” Right: “Yo uno las piezas del puzzle.” Why: Yo needs the yo form uno. The form une belongs with él, ella or Ud.
Wrong: “Yo unir a la familia en Navidad.” Right: “Yo uno a la familia en Navidad.” Why: The infinitive unir cannot be the main verb of a sentence: it must be conjugated to agree with yo, giving uno.
Wrong: “Ayer yo uno a la familia en Navidad.” Right: “Ayer yo uní a la familia en Navidad.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to uní.
Wrong: “Ellos une a la familia en Navidad.” Right: “Ellos unen a la familia en Navidad.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form unen. The singular une belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
Quiz: unir in the present
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
1. Complete the sentence: “Yo ___ las piezas del puzzle.”
- (a) uno
- (b) unes
- (c) une
Answer: uno — The yo form of unir in the present is uno.
2. Complete the sentence: “Tú ___ a la familia en Navidad.”
- (a) uno
- (b) une
- (c) unes
Answer: unes — The tú form of unir in the present is unes.
3. Complete the sentence: “Él/ella ___ dos cables con cinta.”
- (a) unes
- (b) une
- (c) uno
Answer: une — The él/ella form of unir in the present is une.
4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros/as ___ los puntos con una línea.”
- (a) unimos
- (b) uno
- (c) unes
Answer: unimos — The nosotros/as form of unir in the present is unimos.
5. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros/as ___ las piezas del puzzle.”
- (a) uno
- (b) unes
- (c) unís
Answer: unís — The vosotros/as form of unir in the present is unís.
6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos/ellas ___ a la familia en Navidad.”
- (a) unes
- (b) unen
- (c) uno
Answer: unen — The ellos/ellas form of unir in the present is unen.
7. What does unir mean in English?
- (a) to join, to unite
- (b) to join a group yourself
- (c) to be about
Answer: to join, to unite — Unir means to join, to unite.
8. Which sentence is in the present?
- (a) Uní las piezas del puzzle.
- (b) Uniré las piezas del puzzle.
- (c) Uno las piezas del puzzle.
Answer: Uno las piezas del puzzle. — “Uno las piezas del puzzle.” is in the present. The other two use different tenses.
Frequently asked questions
Is unir regular in the present?
Yes. Unir is regular in the present: uno, unes, une, unimos, unís and unen. Watch the accents on the forms that carry them, and remember that the nosotros form is the one that keeps the stem unchanged.
What is the gerund and the past participle of unir?
The gerund is uniendo, used with estar for the progressive: estoy uniendo. The past participle is unido, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he unido.
What should I watch out for with unir?
Unir is regular: uní, unía, uniré. Unir a la familia is to bring the family together. In the present, the form to fix in your memory first is uno, because the yo form shows the stem pattern for the whole tense.
How do I practise unir in the present?
Say the six forms in the table out loud with the examples above, then use the unir examples and quiz page for more sentences, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of unir — every tense of unir in one place.
- Unir examples and quiz — more sentences with unir and a ten-question quiz.
- Spanish present guide — how the present works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Present tense conjugator — conjugate any verb in the present instantly.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on unir and other verbs.