prestar means: to lend, to provide
Click to see all conjugation charts of prestar in every tense

In this conjugation lesson we will see how to conjugate the verb prestar 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 prestar verb conjugation. For an overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

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

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 instance:
  vosotras prestáis

  (feminine, plural) you lend
• The English Present Progressive (a.k.a. Present Continuous) tense, for instance:
  ahora mismo tú prestas

  you are lending right 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 intended position on the timeline is a crucial skill for proper choice of tenses. So pay attention to 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 the inflected forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in Spanish language, where each conjugated verb form consists of two words.The verb prestar has a completely regular conjugation in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. It means that this verb follows the basic rules for its conjugation group (-ar) without spelling corrections or exceptions. The basis for this conjugation is the stem of the verb, so we have to start by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s very easy to do. Simply 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: prest-
• and the ending is: -ar

Use the stem prest- in each subject as the basis for the conjugations, the common prefix or root that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. Analyze the image showing all six endings. Notice both the colors and shapes of the letters. They are arranged to 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 presto:

• yo presto – I lend

And similarly add the regular ending -as for the second person singular to create prestas:

• tú prestas – you lend

Similarly add the regular ending -a for the third person singular to create presta:

• él presta – he lends
• ella presta – she lends
• usted presta – (formal) you lend

Once more add the regular ending -amos for the first person plural to create prestamos:

• nosotros prestamos – we lend
• nosotras prestamos – (feminine) we lend

And add the regular ending -áis for the second person plural to create prestáis:

• vosotros prestáis – (plural) you lend
• vosotras prestáis – (feminine, plural) you lend

Again add the regular ending -an for the third person plural to create prestan:

• ellos prestan – they lend
• ellas prestan – (feminine) they lend
• ustedes prestan – (formal, plural) you lend

That’s it! The conjugation is now done. The final result looks as follows:

yo	presto	I lend
tú	prestas	you lend
él/ella/usted	presta	he/she/it lends
nosotros/nosotras	prestamos	we lend
vosotros/vosotras	prestáis	you lend
ellos/ellas/ustedes	prestan	they lend

Click to see all conjugation charts of prestar 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 example sentences and some links.

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 prestar visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for prestar visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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