Urgir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of urgir — “to be urgent” 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 urgir 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. Urgir means to be urgent or to urge, and it is used when something cannot wait: urge una respuesta, urge reparar la gotera. The subject is usually the thing that is urgent, and the verb is most common in the third person. It is a -gir verb: g becomes j before o and a, so yo urjo and the subjunctive urja. To see it in a real sentence: Urjo una respuesta inmediata. — “I be urgent an immediate answer.”
Present tense conjugation table: urgir
Every person of urgir in the present tense. The gerund is urgiendo and the past participle is urgido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | urjo |
| tú | urges |
| él/ella/Ud. | urge |
| nosotros/as | urgimos |
| vosotros/as | urgís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | urgen |
The gerund is urgiendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy urgiendo” means the action of urgir is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is urgido, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he urgido” 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 urgir is used.
How the present of urgir is formed
The present of urgir is built from the stem urg 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 | urjo |
| tú | -es | urges |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | urge |
| nosotros/as | -imos | urgimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | urgís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | urgen |
urgir is not fully regular in form: this verb is a -gir verb: g becomes j before o and a, so the present first person is urjo and the present subjunctive is urja. The endings in the table above are the regular -ir endings, so once you know the pattern, the whole tense follows. The forms that show the pattern most clearly are urjo and urge.
The gerund of urgir is urgiendo and the past participle is urgido. Both are the forms you need for the progressive and the perfect tenses with haber.
When to use the present of urgir
The present is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use urgir 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 urgir 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 urgir is no exception. The time words that go with it are todos los días, cada semana, siempre and a menudo.
Example: “Urjo una respuesta inmediata.” — I be urgent an immediate answer.
2. A general fact
The present tense also states facts that are true in general, not just today. When you describe what urgir 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: “Urge una decisión antes del viernes.” — He/she is urgent a decision before Friday.
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: “Urjo reparar la gotera.” — I be urgent repairing the leak.
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 urgir follows the same rule as every other verb.
Example: “Mañana, nosotros urgimos que alguien llame al médico.” — Tomorrow, we be urgent someone calling the doctor.
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: “¿Urges una decisión antes del viernes?” — Do you be urgent a decision before Friday?
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: “Urjo una respuesta inmediata.” — I be urgent an immediate answer.
Preterite: “Urgí una respuesta inmediata.” — I was urgent an immediate answer.
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: “Urge una decisión antes del viernes.” — He/she is urgent a decision before Friday.
Preterite: “Urgió una decisión antes del viernes.” — He/she was urgent a decision before Friday.
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: “Urgimos reparar la gotera.” — We be urgent repairing the leak.
Preterite: “Urgimos reparar la gotera.” — We was urgent repairing the leak.
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: urgir 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.
“Urjo una respuesta inmediata.” — I be urgent an immediate answer.
“Urges una decisión antes del viernes.” — You be urgent a decision before Friday.
“Urge reparar la gotera.” — He/she is urgent repairing the leak.
“Urgimos que alguien llame al médico.” — We be urgent someone calling the doctor.
“Urgís una respuesta inmediata.” — You be urgent an immediate answer.
“Urgen una decisión antes del viernes.” — They be urgent a decision before Friday.
“Urjo reparar la gotera.” — I be urgent repairing the leak.
“Urge que alguien llame al médico.” — He/she is urgent someone calling the doctor.
Common mistakes with urgir 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 urge una respuesta inmediata.” Right: “Yo urjo una respuesta inmediata.” Why: Yo needs the yo form urjo. The form urge belongs with él, ella or Ud.
Wrong: “Yo urgo una decisión antes del viernes.” Right: “Yo urjo una decisión antes del viernes.” Why: Urgir is a -gir verb: g becomes j before o and a, so the present first person is urjo and the present subjunctive is urja, so the first-person present is urjo, not urgo.
Wrong: “Ayer yo urjo una decisión antes del viernes.” Right: “Ayer yo urgí una decisión antes del viernes.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to urgí.
Wrong: “Ellos urge una decisión antes del viernes.” Right: “Ellos urgen una decisión antes del viernes.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form urgen. The singular urge belongs with él, ella or a singular noun.
Quiz: urgir 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 ___ una respuesta inmediata.”
- (a) urjo
- (b) urges
- (c) urge
Answer: urjo — The yo form of urgir in the present is urjo.
2. Complete the sentence: “Tú ___ una decisión antes del viernes.”
- (a) urjo
- (b) urge
- (c) urges
Answer: urges — The tú form of urgir in the present is urges.
3. Complete the sentence: “Él/ella ___ reparar la gotera.”
- (a) urges
- (b) urge
- (c) urjo
Answer: urge — The él/ella form of urgir in the present is urge.
4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros/as ___ que alguien llame al médico.”
- (a) urgimos
- (b) urjo
- (c) urges
Answer: urgimos — The nosotros/as form of urgir in the present is urgimos.
5. Complete the sentence: “Vosotros/as ___ una respuesta inmediata.”
- (a) urjo
- (b) urges
- (c) urgís
Answer: urgís — The vosotros/as form of urgir in the present is urgís.
6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos/ellas ___ una decisión antes del viernes.”
- (a) urges
- (b) urgen
- (c) urjo
Answer: urgen — The ellos/ellas form of urgir in the present is urgen.
7. What does urgir mean in English?
- (a) to be urgent
- (b) to hurry
- (c) to be about
Answer: to be urgent — Urgir means to be urgent.
8. Which sentence is in the present?
- (a) Urgí una respuesta inmediata.
- (b) Urgiré una respuesta inmediata.
- (c) Urjo una respuesta inmediata.
Answer: Urjo una respuesta inmediata. — “Urjo una respuesta inmediata.” is in the present. The other two use different tenses.
Frequently asked questions
Is urgir regular in the present?
Urgir is a spelling-change verb in the present: it is a -gir verb: g becomes j before o and a, so the present first person is urjo and the present subjunctive is urja. The endings are the regular -ir endings, so the table above follows the pattern exactly.
What is the gerund and the past participle of urgir?
The gerund is urgiendo, used with estar for the progressive: estoy urgiendo. The past participle is urgido, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he urgido.
What should I watch out for with urgir?
Urgir is a -gir verb: g becomes j before o and a, so yo urjo and the subjunctive urja. It is usually third person: urge una respuesta. In the present, the form to fix in your memory first is urjo, because the yo form shows the stem pattern for the whole tense.
How do I practise urgir in the present?
Say the six forms in the table out loud with the examples above, then use the urgir examples and quiz page for more sentences, and the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related pages
- Full conjugation of urgir — every tense of urgir in one place.
- Urgir examples and quiz — more sentences with urgir 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 urgir and other verbs.