molestar Present Conjugation
molestar — to bother
Molestar is regular in the present: molesto, molestas, molesta, molestamos, molestáis, molestan.
molestar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to describe something that is currently annoying you or to state general facts about things that are bothersome. It is often used like 'gustar' (e.g., 'me molesta el ruido') to express personal irritation.
Notes on molestar in the Present
Molestar is completely regular in the present indicative; it follows the standard -ar verb pattern without any stem changes.
Example Sentences
Perdona, ¿te molesto si abro la ventana?
Sorry, am I bothering you if I open the window?
yo
A mi gato le molesta el ruido de la aspiradora.
The sound of the vacuum cleaner bothers my cat.
él/ella/usted
Ustedes molestan a los vecinos con la música tan alta.
You all are bothering the neighbors with the music so loud.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'molestar' to mean 'to sexually harass' in every context.
Correct: Use it for general bothering or annoying.
Why: While it can mean harassment, its most common everyday use is simply 'to annoy' or 'to bother'.
Master Spanish verbs in context
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: molesté
The preterite of molestar is regular: molesté, molestaste, molestó, molestamos, molestasteis, molestaron.
Imperfect
yo: molestaba
The imperfect of molestar follows the standard -aba pattern: molestaba, molestabas, molestaba, molestábamos, molestabais, molestaban.
Future
yo: molestaré
The future of molestar adds endings to the infinitive: molestaré, molestarás, molestará, molestaremos, molestaréis, molestarán.
Conditional
yo: molestaría
The conditional of molestar uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: molestaría, molestarías, molestaría, molestaríamos, molestaríais, molestaría.
Present Subjunctive
yo: moleste
The present subjunctive of molestar swaps -ar for -e endings: moleste, molestes, moleste, molestemos, molestéis, molesten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: molestara
The imperfect subjunctive of molestar uses the 'molestara' endings: molestara, molestaras, molestara, molestáramos, molestarais, molestaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: molesta
The imperative of molestar provides direct commands: molesta (tú), moleste (usted), molestad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no molestes
The negative imperative of molestar uses the present subjunctive: no molestes, no moleste, no molestemos, no molestéis, no molesten.