
leer Present Conjugation
leer — to read
Leer is regular in the present tense, following standard -er endings: leo, lees, lee, leemos, leéis, leen.
leer Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to discuss your reading habits, what you are reading currently, or general facts about literacy.
Notes on leer in the Present
The present tense of leer is completely regular. Just drop the -er and add the standard endings.
Example Sentences
Leo un libro antes de dormir.
I read a book before going to sleep.
yo
Mi hijo ya lee muy bien.
My son already reads very well.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros leemos las noticias cada mañana.
We read the news every morning.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: yo leyo
Correct: yo leo
Why: Learners often confuse the 'y' from the preterite or gerund (leyendo) and apply it to the present 'yo' form incorrectly.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'leer' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: leí
The preterite of leer features a spelling change where 'i' becomes 'y' in the third-person forms: leyó and leyeron.
Imperfect
yo: leía
The imperfect of leer is regular for -er verbs: leía, leías, leía, leíamos, leíais, leían.
Future
yo: leeré
The future tense of leer is regular: simply add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: leería
The conditional of leer is regular: add the endings -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive.
Present Subjunctive
yo: lea
The present subjunctive of leer is regular: lea, leas, lea, leamos, leáis, lean.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: leyera
The imperfect subjunctive of leer uses the 'y' from the preterite: leyera, leyeras, leyera, leyéramos, leyerais, leyeran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: lee
Give commands with leer: lee (tú), lea (usted), leamos (nosotros), leed (vosotros), lean (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no leas
Negative commands for leer always use the present subjunctive forms: no leas, no lea, no leamos, no leáis, no lean.