caer means: to fall
Click to see all conjugation charts of caer in every tense

In this conjugation lesson we are going to learn how to conjugate the verb caer in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the caer verb conjugation. For a general overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

You may also see this Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Presente. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you can find additional information on conjugation in this tense as well as explanation of special cases and exceptions.

How to translate Presente to English

Note that the phrases in English provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:

• In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
• Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
• Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
• In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

The Spanish Presente de Indicativo tense translates to one of the following:

• The English Present tense, for instance:
  vosotras caéis

  (feminine, plural) you fall
• The English Present Progressive (or Present Continuous) tense, for example:
  ahora mismo vosotros caéis

  (plural) you are falling right now
  
  Note however, that the Spanish equivalent of the Present Progressive also exists and is in common use – that’s Presente Progresivo (or Presente Continuo).

Note the timeline

The ability to correctly locate the desired position on the timeline is an important skill for the right use of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while speaking, listening, writing and reading. After some practice you’ll be capable of selecting the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Presente belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of the inflected forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in Spanish language, where each inflected form consists of two words.The verb caer has an almost entirely regular conjugation in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. An exception is the first person singular, which has an irregular form. It means that the other persons just follow the general rules for this conjugation group (-er) without further exceptions. The basis for this conjugation is the stem of the verb, so we need to begin by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s really easy to do. Just remove two letters from the end of the infinitive form and you have the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So for our verb:

• the stem is: ca-
• and the ending is: -er

Use the stem ca- in each person as the basis for the conjugations, the common prefix that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. See the image on the side showing all the six endings. Notice the colors and shapes of the letters. It should help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. The first person singular is irregular in this tense and needs to be learned by heart. It is caigo:

• yo caigo – I fall

Add the regular ending -es for the second person singular to create caes:

• tú caes – you fall

Like previously add the regular ending -e for the third person singular to create cae:

• él cae – he falls
• ella cae – she falls
• usted cae – (formal) you fall

Again add the regular ending -emos for the first person plural to create caemos:

• nosotros caemos – we fall
• nosotras caemos – (feminine) we fall

Also as in the previous case add the regular ending -éis for the second person plural to create caéis:

• vosotros caéis – (plural) you fall
• vosotras caéis – (feminine, plural) you fall

And again add the regular ending -en for the third person plural to create caen:

• ellos caen – they fall
• ellas caen – (feminine) they fall
• ustedes caen – (formal, plural) you fall

This is it! The conjugation is now done. That’s the final result:

yo	caigo	I fall
tú	caes	you fall
él/ella/usted	cae	he/she/it falls
nosotros/nosotras	caemos	we fall
vosotros/vosotras	caéis	you fall
ellos/ellas/ustedes	caen	they fall

Click to see all conjugation charts of caer in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it is very important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for examples and suggestions.

Example sentences

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your skills check this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PretéritoImperfectoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  For exercises and examples related to caer visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for caer visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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