Vestir Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of vestir — "to dress" 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 vestir 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. Vestir means to dress someone or to wear clothes: vestir un traje, vestir a sus hijos. For getting dressed yourself, Spanish uses vestirse: me visto cada mañana. To see it in a real sentence: Yo visto un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding".
Present tense conjugation table: vestir
Every person of vestir in the present tense. The gerund is vistiendo and the past participle is vestido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | visto |
| tú | vistes |
| él/ella/Ud. | viste |
| nosotros/as | vestimos |
| vosotros/as | vestís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | visten |
How the present of vestir is formed
The present of vestir is built from the stem vest- 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 | visto |
| tú | -es | vistes |
| él/ella/Ud. | -e | viste |
| nosotros/as | -imos | vestimos |
| vosotros/as | -ís | vestís |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -en | visten |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: visto, vistes, viste and visten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: vestimos, vestís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: vistió, vistieron, and the gerund is vistiendo.
The gerund of vestir is vistiendo and the past participle is vestido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of vestir
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and vestir 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 visto un traje elegante para la boda" — "Every day, I dress an elegant suit for the wedding"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo viste a sus hijos cada mañana" — "My friend dresses his children every morning"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo visto de negro en el funeral" — "Right now, I dress in black for the funeral"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros vestimos ropa cómoda en casa" — "Tomorrow, we dress comfortable clothes at home"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos visten un vestido rojo para la fiesta" — "They dress a red dress for the party"
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 visto un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo vestí un traje elegante para la boda — "I dressed an elegant suit for the wedding"
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 vistes a sus hijos cada mañana — "You dress his children every morning"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú vestías a sus hijos cada mañana — "You used to dress his children every morning"
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 viste de negro en el funeral — "He dresses in black for the funeral"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él vestirá de negro en el funeral — "He will dress in black for the funeral"
Examples: vestir in the present tense
Seven sentences that show vestir in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo visto un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding"
- Tú vistes a sus hijos cada mañana — "You dress his children every morning"
- Él viste de negro en el funeral — "He dresses in black for the funeral"
- Nosotros vestimos ropa cómoda en casa — "We dress comfortable clothes at home"
- Vosotros vestís un vestido rojo para la fiesta — "You dress a red dress for the party"
- Ellos visten un traje elegante para la boda — "They dress an elegant suit for the wedding"
- Yo visto a sus hijos cada mañana — "I dress his children every morning"
Common mistakes with vestir in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with vestir in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo vesto un traje elegante para la boda.
✓ Correct: Yo visto un traje elegante para la boda.
vestir is a stem-changing verb (e → i): the stem vowel changes in the stressed present forms, so the yo form is visto, not vesto.
✗ *Tú viste a sus hijos cada mañana.
✓ Correct: Tú vistes a sus hijos cada mañana.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes vistes, él takes viste.
✗ *Cada día, yo vestí de negro en el funeral
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo visto de negro en el funeral
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros vestis ropa cómoda en casa.
✓ Correct: Vosotros vestís ropa cómoda en casa.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: vestís, not vestis.
Quiz: vestir in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of vestir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of vestir for tú? A. visto B. viste C. vestimos D. vistes
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding" (present) A. viste B. vestimos C. visto D. vistes
Complete the sentence: Él ______ a sus hijos cada mañana — "He dresses his children every morning" (present) A. vestimos B. viste C. visto D. vistes
Which is the correct present form of vestir for nosotros? A. viste B. visten C. vestimos D. vistes
Which sentence uses vestir correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo viste de negro en el funeral B. Mi amigo vistes de negro en el funeral C. Mi amigo vestía de negro en el funeral D. Mi amigo vestimos de negro en el funeral
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ ropa cómoda en casa — "You dress comfortable clothes at home" (present) A. vestís B. visto C. vistes D. viste
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ un vestido rojo para la fiesta — "They dress a red dress for the party" (present) A. visten B. visto C. vistes D. viste
What is the gerund of vestir? A. vestí B. vistiendo C. vestido D. visto
Answer key
- vistes — The tú form in the present is vistes.
- visto — The present form for yo is visto.
- viste — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is viste.
- vestimos — The nosotros form in the present is vestimos.
- Mi amigo viste de negro en el funeral — Mi amigo viste de negro en el funeral is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- vestís — The present form for vosotros/as is vestís.
- visten — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is visten.
- vistiendo — The gerund is vistiendo. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle vestido.
Frequently asked questions
Is vestir regular in the present tense?
No — in the present the stem changes: The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: visto, vistes, viste and visten — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: vestimos, vestís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: vistió, vistieron, and the gerund is vistiendo. The nosotros and vosotros forms keep the plain stem.
What is the gerund and the past participle of vestir?
The gerund is vistiendo and the past participle is vestido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I dress" in the present tense?
Say visto. For example: Yo visto un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of vestir?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo visto un traje elegante para la boda — "I dress an elegant suit for the wedding". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo vestí un traje elegante para la boda — "Yesterday, I dressed an elegant suit for the wedding". 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 vestir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- vestir 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.