abrir means: to open, to turn on, to unlock, to unfold
Click to see all conjugation charts of abrir in every tense

In this conjugation lesson we will learn how to conjugate the verb abrir 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 abrir 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 see additional information on conjugation in this tense and explanation of special cases and exceptions.

How to translate Presente to English

Note 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 abrís

  (feminine, plural) you open
• The English Present Progressive (a.k.a. Present Continuous) tense, for instance:
  ahora él abre

  he is opening 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 properly locate the intended position on the timeline is a crucial skill for the right use of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, reading or writing. After some practice you will 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 its inflected 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 abrir has an entirely regular conjugation in the Presente tense of the Indicativo mood. It means that this verb follows the basic rules for its group (-ir) without any 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 really easy to do. Just remove two letters from the end of the infinitive and you have the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of the verb abrir it’s easy to see that:

• the stem is: abr-
• and the ending is: -ir

Use the stem abr- in each subject as the basis for conjugation, the common prefix or root 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 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 abro:

• yo abro – I open

As before add the regular ending -es for the second person singular to create abres:

• tú abres – you open

Again add the regular ending -e for the third person singular to create abre:

• él abre – he opens
• ella abre – she opens
• usted abre – (formal) you open

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

• nosotros abrimos – we open
• nosotras abrimos – (feminine) we open

One more time add the regular ending -ís for the second person plural to create abrís:

• vosotros abrís – (plural) you open
• vosotras abrís – (feminine, plural) you open

And once more add the regular ending -en for the third person plural to create abren:

• ellos abren – they open
• ellas abren – (feminine) they open
• ustedes abren – (formal, plural) you open

This is it! The conjugation is now done. The final result looks as follows:

yo	abro	I open
tú	abres	you open
él/ella/usted	abre	he/she/it opens
nosotros/nosotras	abrimos	we open
vosotros/vosotras	abrís	you open
ellos/ellas/ustedes	abren	they open

Click to see all conjugation charts of abrir 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 examples and some links.

Example sentences

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

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