instruir Present Conjugation
instruir — to instruct
The present of instruir adds a 'y' before endings: instruyo, instruyes, instruye, instruimos, instruís, instruyen.
instruir Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to talk about current habits, professional roles in teaching, or general facts about how someone provides guidance.
Notes on instruir in the Present
Instruir is a 'y-inserting' verb. For all forms except nosotros and vosotros, the 'i' in the ending changes to 'y' to maintain the sound and separate vowels.
Example Sentences
Yo instruyo a los nuevos empleados sobre seguridad.
I instruct the new employees on safety.
yo
El profesor instruye a sus alumnos con paciencia.
The teacher instructs his students with patience.
él/ella/usted
¿Tú instruyes en la academia de arte?
Do you instruct at the art academy?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'instruo' instead of 'instruyo'.
Correct: instruyo
Why: Verbs ending in -uir require a 'y' before the 'o', 'e', and 'a' endings to avoid three vowels clashing.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: instruí
Instruir in the preterite features a 'y' in the third-person forms: instruí, instruiste, instruyó, instruimos, instruisteis, instruyeron.
Imperfect
yo: instruía
The imperfect of instruir is regular: instruía, instruías, instruía, instruíamos, instruíais, instruían.
Future
yo: instruiré
The future of instruir is regular: instruiré, instruirás, instruirá, instruiremos, instruiréis, instruirán.
Conditional
yo: instruiría
The conditional of instruir is regular: instruiría, instruirías, instruiría, instruiríamos, instruiríais, instruirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: instruya
The present subjunctive of instruir uses a 'y' in all forms: instruya, instruyas, instruya, instruyamos, instruyáis, instruyan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: instruyera
The imperfect subjunctive of instruir uses the 'y' from the preterite: instruyera, instruyeras, instruyera, instruyéramos, instruyerais, instruyeran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: instruye
Use the imperative to give orders: instruye (tú), instruya (usted), instruid (vosotros), instruyan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no instruyas
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no instruyas, no instruya, no instruyamos, no instruyáis, no instruyan.