cuidar Present Conjugation
cuidar — to take care of
The present tense of cuidar is regular: cuido, cuidas, cuida, cuidamos, cuidáis, cuidan.
cuidar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about current responsibilities or habits, such as looking after a pet or babysitting regularly. It is also common when offering to help someone in the moment.
Notes on cuidar in the Present
Cuidar is a completely regular -ar verb in the present tense; it follows the standard pattern without any stem changes.
Example Sentences
Yo cuido a mis sobrinos los fines de semana.
I take care of my nephews on the weekends.
yo
¿Tú cuidas el jardín de tu abuela?
Do you take care of your grandmother's garden?
tú
Nosotros cuidamos el medio ambiente.
We take care of the environment.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Adding a stem change like 'cuedo'.
Correct: cuido
Why: Learners often expect a stem change in common verbs, but cuidar keeps its 'ui' sound throughout.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: cuidé
Cuidar is regular in the preterite: cuidé, cuidaste, cuidó, cuidamos, cuidasteis, cuidaron.
Imperfect
yo: cuidaba
The imperfect of cuidar follows the regular -aba pattern: cuidaba, cuidabas, cuidaba, cuidábamos.
Future
yo: cuidaré
The future of cuidar uses the infinitive plus standard endings: cuidaré, cuidarás, cuidará.
Conditional
yo: cuidaría
The conditional of cuidar is regular: cuidaría, cuidarías, cuidaría, cuidaríamos, cuidaríais, cuidarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cuide
The present subjunctive of cuidar uses -e endings: cuide, cuides, cuide, cuidemos, cuidéis, cuiden.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cuidara
The imperfect subjunctive of cuidar uses the preterite stem: cuidara, cuidaras, cuidara, cuidáramos.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cuida
The imperative of cuidar provides direct commands: cuida (tú), cuidad (vosotros), cuide (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no cuides
The negative imperative of cuidar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no cuides, no cuide.