Volar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb volar means to fly, and this page covers it in the present tense — the tense for habits, facts and what is happening now. If you want the whole picture, start with the full volar conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo vuelo a Madrid. — "I fly to Madrid."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for volar, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

Watch out for one thing before you start: volar is a stem-changing verb (o → ue). The stem vowel changes in four of the six present forms, and the table below shows exactly which ones.

The volar present tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for volar. The gerund is volando and the past participle is volado.

Person Form
yo vuelo
tú vuelas
él/ella/Ud. vuela
nosotros/as volamos
vosotros/as voláis
ellos/ellas/Uds. vuelan

The gerund volando is used with estar for the progressive (estoy volando, I am flying), and the past participle volado is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he volado, I have flew).

How the present tense of volar is formed

Start with the infinitive volar. Take off the -ar ending and you are left with the stem vol-. Then add the present endings for -ar verbs: -o (yo), -as (tú), -a (él/ella/Ud.), -amos (nosotros/as), -áis (vosotros/as) and -an (ellos/ellas/Uds.). That gives you the six forms in the table above, and for most verbs in this group that is the whole story.

volar is a stem-changing verb: the stem vowel changes from o → ue in the four stressed forms of the present. You say vuelo (yo), vuelas (tú), vuela (él/ella) and vuelan (ellos/ellas), but the nosotros and vosotros forms are unstressed, so they keep the plain stem: volamos and voláis. This is the single most important thing to learn about volar, because the change appears in the present, in the present subjunctive and in the imperative too. Learn the four changed forms as a set, and the two unchanged forms as a pair, and the pattern becomes automatic.

Two details are worth fixing early. First, the vosotros form carries a written accent on the ending: voláis. Second, the present tense in Spanish has no auxiliary verb: vuelo on its own means both "I fly" and "I am flying" in English, so you do not need a separate word for the progressive unless you want to stress that something is happening right now.

When to use the present tense of volar

Habits and routines

The present is the tense of what you do regularly. Talking about flying in a plane: to Madrid, over the sea, at night.

  • Yo vuelo a Madrid. — "I fly to Madrid."
  • Tú vuelas muy alto. — "you fly very high."

Facts and general truths

The present also states facts that are true in general, not just today. Talking about birds and insects flying, and how high they go.

  • Él vuela en avión. — "he/she flies by plane."
  • Nosotros volamos sobre el mar. — "we fly over the sea."

What is happening now

The present describes what is happening at this moment. Talking about time flying, a figurative use: el tiempo vuela.

  • Vosotros voláis cada verano. — "you (all) fly every summer."
  • Ellos vuelan por la noche. — "they fly at night."

Plans in the near future

Spanish also uses the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with a time expression. A plan you have already decided on can be stated in the present, and it sounds more certain than the future tense.

  • Él vuela en avión. — "he/she flies by plane."
  • Nosotros volamos sobre el mar. — "we fly over the sea."

Volar present vs present progressive

The present tense and the present progressive (estar + gerund) are close neighbours, and learners mix them up. The present describes a habit, a fact or a routine. The progressive describes something in progress right now, at this very moment. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is a habit, the second is happening now.

  • Present (habit): Yo vuelo a Madrid. — "I fly to Madrid."

  • Progressive (right now): Yo estoy volando a Madrid. — "I am flying to Madrid."

  • Present (habit): Tú vuelas muy alto. — "you fly very high."

  • Progressive (right now): Tú estás volando muy alto. — "you are flying very high."

  • Present (habit): Él vuela en avión. — "he/she flies by plane."

  • Progressive (right now): Él está volando en avión. — "he/she is flying by plane."

Use the present when you talk about what you usually do, and the progressive when you want to stress that it is happening as you speak. If you say vuelo every day, that is a routine. If you say Estoy volando, you are doing it at this moment.

Examples of volar in the present

Eight sentences in the present tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Vuelo a Madrid cada verano. — "I fly to Madrid every summer."
  2. Los pájaros vuelan muy alto sobre el mar. — "The birds fly very high over the sea."
  3. Ayer volé a Barcelona por la noche. — "Yesterday I flew to Barcelona at night."
  4. De niño, volaba en avión con mis padres cada verano. — "As a child, I used to fly in a plane with my parents every summer."
  5. Mañana volaremos a Sevilla en avión. — "Tomorrow we will fly to Seville by plane."
  6. Si pudiera, volaría por todo el mundo. — "If I could, I would fly all over the world."
  7. Él vuela cada verano. — "he/she flies every summer."
  8. Nosotros volamos por la noche. — "we fly at night."

Common mistakes with volar in the present

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Yo volo a Madrid.

Wrong: Yo volo a Madrid.

Right: Yo vuelo a Madrid.

Volar is an o → ue stem-changing verb: yo vuelo, tú vuelas, él vuela, ellos vuelan. Volamos and voláis keep the plain o.

2. Nosotros vuelamos a Madrid.

Wrong: Nosotros vuelamos a Madrid.

Right: Nosotros volamos a Madrid.

The stem change never applies to nosotros or vosotros: volamos, not vuelamos.

3. Using the present for a finished past action

Wrong: Ayer yo vuelo a Madrid.

Right: Ayer yo volé a Madrid.

Ayer (yesterday) signals a finished action, so it needs the preterite: volé. The present vuelo describes what you do now or usually, not what you did yesterday.

4. Forgetting the accent on the vosotros form

Wrong: Vosotros volais a Madrid.

Right: Vosotros voláis a Madrid.

The vosotros ending carries a written accent: voláis. Without it, the spelling is wrong, even though the pronunciation is close.

Quiz: test yourself on volar in the present

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ a Madrid
    • a) vuelo
    • b) vuelas
    • c) vuela
    • d) volamos
  2. Tú ___ muy alto
    • a) vuelo
    • b) vuela
    • c) volamos
    • d) vuelas
  3. Él ___ en avión
    • a) vuelas
    • b) volamos
    • c) vuela
    • d) vuelo
  4. Nosotros ___ sobre el mar
    • a) vuela
    • b) volamos
    • c) vuelo
    • d) vuelas
  5. Vosotros ___ cada verano
    • a) voláis
    • b) vuelo
    • c) vuelas
    • d) vuela
  6. Ellos ___ por la noche
    • a) vuelo
    • b) vuelas
    • c) vuela
    • d) vuelan
  7. Yo ___ a Madrid
    • a) vuela
    • b) volamos
    • c) vuelo
    • d) vuelas
  8. Tú ___ muy alto
    • a) volamos
    • b) vuelas
    • c) vuelo
    • d) vuela

Answers

  1. a) vuelo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) vuelas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) vuela — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) volamos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) voláis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) vuelan — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) vuelo — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) vuelas — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about volar in the present

Why is it vuelo and not volo?

Volar changes o to ue in the stressed forms of the present: vuelo, vuelas, vuela, vuelan. The nosotros and vosotros forms are unstressed, so they keep o: volamos, voláis.

Is the preterite of volar regular?

Yes. The preterite is regular: volé, volaste, voló, volamos, volasteis, volaron. The stem change only affects the present, the present subjunctive and the imperative.

Is volar a stem-changing verb in the present?

Yes. In the present the stem vowel changes o → ue in the yo, tú, él and ellos forms: vuelo, vuelas, vuela and vuelan. The nosotros form (volamos) and the vosotros form (voláis) keep the plain stem.

What are the gerund and the past participle of volar?

The gerund is volando, used with estar for the progressive (estoy volando), and the past participle is volado, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he volado).

How to remember volar

Four small habits will fix volar in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: vuelo, vuelas, vuela, volamos, voláis, vuelan. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (vuelo), one about yesterday with the preterite (volé), and one about tomorrow with the future (volaré). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from saltar: Volar is flying through the air; saltar is jumping and coming straight back down. A plane vuela, a child salta. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund volando and the past participle volado. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy volando) and the present perfect (he volado), which covers most everyday conversation.

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