encerrar Present Conjugation
encerrar — to lock up
Encerrar is a stem-changing verb (e to ie) in the present tense, except for nosotros and vosotros.
encerrar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to describe locking someone or something up right now, or to talk about things that 'contain' or 'enclose' something as a general truth.
Notes on encerrar in the Present
This is a radical-changing verb. The 'e' in the stem changes to 'ie' whenever the stress falls on it (yo, tú, él, ellos). The nosotros and vosotros forms remain regular.
Example Sentences
Siempre encierro el coche en el garaje.
I always lock the car in the garage.
yo
Esta caja encierra un gran secreto.
This box contains a big secret.
él/ella/usted
Si no encierras al perro, se escapará.
If you don't lock the dog up, he will escape.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: yo encerro
Correct: yo encierro
Why: You must apply the e-to-ie stem change in the first person singular.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: encerré
Encerrar is completely regular in the preterite; it does NOT have a stem change here.
Imperfect
yo: encerraba
Encerrar is regular in the imperfect: encerraba, encerrabas, encerraba, encerrábamos, encerrabais, encerraban.
Future
yo: encerraré
The future of encerrar is regular: just add the endings (é, ás, á, emos, éis, án) to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: encerraría
The conditional of encerrar is regular: encerraría, encerrarías, encerraría, encerraríamos, encerraríais, encerrarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: encierre
The present subjunctive follows the e-to-ie stem change of the present indicative for all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: encerrara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the third-person plural preterite: encerrara, encerraras, encerrara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: encierra
Use 'encierra' for tú and 'encierre' for usted to give direct orders to lock something up.
Negative Imperative
yo: no encierres
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive forms: no encierres, no encierre.