calentar Present Conjugation
calentar — to heat up
Calentar has a stem change (e to ie) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros: caliento, calientas, calienta, calientan.
calentar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about things you are heating up right now, like food in the microwave, or general habits like warming up before exercise.
Notes on calentar in the Present
This is a 'boot verb' (stem-changing). The 'e' in the root changes to 'ie' when stressed. We don't change the stem for nosotros (calentamos) or vosotros (calentáis).
Example Sentences
Yo caliento la sopa en el microondas.
I heat up the soup in the microwave.
yo
Ellos siempre calientan antes de jugar al fútbol.
They always warm up before playing soccer.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nosotros calentamos la cena a las ocho.
We heat up dinner at eight.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Nosotros calientamos.
Correct: Nosotros calentamos.
Why: Stem changes (e to ie) never happen in the nosotros or vosotros forms in the present indicative.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'calentar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: calenté
Calentar is completely regular in the preterite: calenté, calentaste, calentó, calentamos, calentasteis, calentaron.
Imperfect
yo: calentaba
Calentar is regular in the imperfect, using the standard -aba endings: calentaba, calentabas, calentaba...
Future
yo: calentaré
The future of calentar is regular: add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the full infinitive.
Conditional
yo: calentaría
The conditional of calentar is regular: calentar +ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: caliente
The present subjunctive follows the 'ie' stem change: caliente, calientes, caliente, calentemos, calentéis, calienten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: calentara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite: calentara, calentaras, calentara, calentáramos...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: calienta
The commands use the 'ie' stem change except for vosotros: calienta (tú), caliente (usted), calentad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no calientes
Negative commands use the present subjunctive forms: no calientes, no caliente, no calentemos...