responder means: to answer, to reply, to answer back
Click to see all conjugation charts of responder in every tense

In this Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to inflect the verb responder 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 responder conjugation. For a general overview of Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at our 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 may see more detailed 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:
  usted responde

  (formal) you answer
• The English Present Progressive (a.k.a. Present Continuous) tense, for instance:
  ahora ustedes responden

  (formal, plural) you are answering now
  
  Note though, that the Spanish equivalent of the Present Progressive also exists and is in common use – that’s Presente Progresivo (also called Presente Continuo).

Note the timeline

The ability to properly locate the desired position on the timeline is an important skill for proper use of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, writing and reading. After some 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 Spanish language, where each inflected verb form consists of two words.The verb responder has a completely regular conjugation in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. It means that this verb just follows the general rules for its conjugation group (-er) without spelling corrections or exceptions. The basis for the conjugation in this tense is the stem of the verb, so we have to begin 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 to get the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of our verb:

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

Use the stem respond- in each person as the basis for 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. 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 respondo:

• yo respondo – I answer

One more time add the regular ending -es for the second person singular to create respondes:

• tú respondes – you answer

And exactly as previously add the regular ending -e for the third person singular to create responde:

• él responde – he answers
• ella responde – she answers
• usted responde – (formal) you answer

And similarly add the regular ending -emos for the first person plural to create respondemos:

• nosotros respondemos – we answer
• nosotras respondemos – (feminine) we answer

Similarly add the regular ending -éis for the second person plural to create respondéis:

• vosotros respondéis – (plural) you answer
• vosotras respondéis – (feminine, plural) you answer

And similarly add the regular ending -en for the third person plural to create responden:

• ellos responden – they answer
• ellas responden – (feminine) they answer
• ustedes responden – (formal, plural) you answer

¡Ya está! The conjugation is now done. That’s the final result:

yo	respondo	I answer
tú	respondes	you answer
él/ella/usted	responde	he/she/it answers
nosotros/nosotras	respondemos	we answer
vosotros/vosotras	respondéis	you answer
ellos/ellas/ustedes	responden	they answer

Click to see all conjugation charts of responder in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it’s important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for some links.

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

---