matar means: to kill, to blow away, to butcher, to cut down, to slaughter, to slay, to swat
Click to see all conjugation charts of matar in every tense

In this Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to conjugate the verb matar 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 matar conjugation. For an overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation check the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

We also have a Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Presente. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you may get additional information on conjugation in this tense and explanation of special cases and exceptions.

How to translate Presente to English

Notice that the English phrases 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 example:
  nosotras matamos

  (feminine) we kill
• The English Present Progressive (also called Present Continuous) tense, for example:
  ahora vosotras matáis

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

Note the timeline

The ability to properly locate the desired position on the timeline is a crucial skill for proper choice of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, reading or writing. After a bit practice you will be able to select the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Presente belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of its conjugated forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in the Spanish language, where each inflected verb form consists of two words.The verb matar has regular conjugation in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. It means this verb simply follows the basic rules for its conjugation group (-ar) without any exceptions. The basis for this conjugation is the stem of the verb, so we start by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s very 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 in case of our verb:

• the stem is: mat-
• and the ending is: -ar

Use the stem mat- in each person as the basis for the conjugation, the common prefix that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. Check out the image showing all the endings. Note the shapes and colors of the letters. It will 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. Add the regular ending -o for the first person singular to create mato:

• yo mato – I kill

Like previously add the regular ending -as for the second person singular to create matas:

• tú matas – you kill

Also as in the previous case add the regular ending -a for the third person singular to create mata:

• él mata – he kills
• ella mata – she kills
• usted mata – (formal) you kill

And exactly as previously add the regular ending -amos for the first person plural to create matamos:

• nosotros matamos – we kill
• nosotras matamos – (feminine) we kill

Once more add the regular ending -áis for the second person plural to create matáis:

• vosotros matáis – (plural) you kill
• vosotras matáis – (feminine, plural) you kill

Like in the previous case add the regular ending -an for the third person plural to create matan:

• ellos matan – they kill
• ellas matan – (feminine) they kill
• ustedes matan – (formal, plural) you kill

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

yo	mato	I kill
tú	matas	you kill
él/ella/usted	mata	he/she/it kills
nosotros/nosotras	matamos	we kill
vosotros/vosotras	matáis	you kill
ellos/ellas/ustedes	matan	they kill

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

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test yourself try 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 matar visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for matar visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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