Vaciar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of vaciar — "to empty" 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 vaciar 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. Vaciar means to empty something: vaciar la bolsa, vaciar el depósito. The present has a written accent on the í: vacío, vacías, vacía, vacían. To see it in a real sentence: Yo vacío la bolsa de la compra — "I empty the shopping bag".
Present tense conjugation table: vaciar
Every person of vaciar in the present tense. The gerund is vaciando and the past participle is vaciado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | vacío |
| tú | vacías |
| él/ella/Ud. | vacía |
| nosotros/as | vaciamos |
| vosotros/as | vaciáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | vacían |
How the present of vaciar is formed
The present of vaciar is built from the stem vaci- 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 | vacío |
| tú | -as | vacías |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | vacía |
| nosotros/as | -amos | vaciamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | vaciáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | vacían |
The gerund of vaciar is vaciando and the past participle is vaciado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of vaciar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and vaciar 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 vacío la bolsa de la compra" — "Every day, I empty the shopping bag"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo vacía el depósito del coche" — "My friend empties the car tank"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo vacío la papelera cada tarde" — "Right now, I empty the wastepaper basket every evening"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros vaciamos la piscina en invierno" — "Tomorrow, we empty the swimming pool in winter"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos vacían el armario para mudarse" — "They empty the wardrobe before moving"
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 vacío la bolsa de la compra — "I empty the shopping bag"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo vacié la bolsa de la compra — "I emptied the shopping bag"
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 vacías el depósito del coche — "You empty the car tank"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú vaciabas el depósito del coche — "You used to empty the car tank"
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 vacía la papelera cada tarde — "He empties the wastepaper basket every evening"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él vaciará la papelera cada tarde — "He will empty the wastepaper basket every evening"
Examples: vaciar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show vaciar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo vacío la bolsa de la compra — "I empty the shopping bag"
- Tú vacías el depósito del coche — "You empty the car tank"
- Él vacía la papelera cada tarde — "He empties the wastepaper basket every evening"
- Nosotros vaciamos la piscina en invierno — "We empty the swimming pool in winter"
- Vosotros vaciáis el armario para mudarse — "You empty the wardrobe before moving"
- Ellos vacían la bolsa de la compra — "They empty the shopping bag"
- Yo vacío el depósito del coche — "I empty the car tank"
Common mistakes with vaciar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with vaciar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo vacío en la bolsa de la compra.
✓ Correct: Yo vacío la bolsa de la compra.
vaciar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo vacío la bolsa de la compra.
✗ *Tú vacía el depósito del coche.
✓ Correct: Tú vacías el depósito del coche.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes vacías, él takes vacía.
✗ *Cada día, yo vacié la papelera cada tarde
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo vacío la papelera cada tarde
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros vaciais la piscina en invierno.
✓ Correct: Vosotros vaciáis la piscina en invierno.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: vaciáis, not vaciais.
Quiz: vaciar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of vaciar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of vaciar for tú? A. vacía B. vaciamos C. vacías D. vacío
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ la bolsa de la compra — "I empty the shopping bag" (present) A. vacía B. vaciamos C. vacío D. vacías
Complete the sentence: Él ______ el depósito del coche — "He empties the car tank" (present) A. vacías B. vaciamos C. vacía D. vacío
Which is the correct present form of vaciar for nosotros? A. vacían B. vaciamos C. vacías D. vacía
Which sentence uses vaciar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo vacías la papelera cada tarde B. Mi amigo vaciaba la papelera cada tarde C. Mi amigo vaciamos la papelera cada tarde D. Mi amigo vacía la papelera cada tarde
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ la piscina en invierno — "You empty the swimming pool in winter" (present) A. vacía B. vaciáis C. vacío D. vacías
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ el armario para mudarse — "They empty the wardrobe before moving" (present) A. vacían B. vacío C. vacías D. vacía
What is the gerund of vaciar? A. vaciando B. vaciado C. vacío D. vacié
Answer key
- vacías — The tú form in the present is vacías.
- vacío — The present form for yo is vacío.
- vacía — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is vacía.
- vaciamos — The nosotros form in the present is vaciamos.
- Mi amigo vacía la papelera cada tarde — Mi amigo vacía la papelera cada tarde is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- vaciáis — The present form for vosotros/as is vaciáis.
- vacían — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is vacían.
- vaciando — The gerund is vaciando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle vaciado.
Frequently asked questions
Is vaciar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense vaciar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of vaciar?
The gerund is vaciando and the past participle is vaciado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I empty" in the present tense?
Say vacío. For example: Yo vacío la bolsa de la compra — "I empty the shopping bag".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of vaciar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo vacío la bolsa de la compra — "I empty the shopping bag". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo vacié la bolsa de la compra — "Yesterday, I emptied the shopping bag". 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 vaciar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- vaciar 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.