perseguir Present Conjugation
perseguir — to chase
Perseguir has an 'e > i' stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros, plus a 'go' ending in the 'yo' form.
perseguir Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to describe habitual actions (like a cat constantly chasing its tail) or current ongoing pursuits of goals.
Notes on perseguir in the Present
This verb is tricky! In the 'yo' form, the 'u' drops (persigo) to keep the hard 'g' sound. In other forms (except nosotros/vosotros), the 'e' changes to 'i' (persigues, persigue).
Example Sentences
Yo persigo mis objetivos con mucha paciencia.
I pursue my goals with a lot of patience.
yo
Mi perro siempre persigue a las palomas.
My dog always chases pigeons.
él/ella/usted
¿Por qué nos persiguen?
Why are they chasing us?
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: persiguo
Correct: persigo
Why: In the 'yo' form, you must drop the 'u'. If you kept it, it would be pronounced 'per-see-gwo' instead of 'per-see-go'.
Mistake: perseguimos (with an 'i')
Correct: perseguimos
Why: The 'nosotros' form never takes the stem change in the present indicative.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'perseguir' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: perseguí
Perseguir has a third-person stem change (e > i) in the preterite: persiguió and persiguieron.
Imperfect
yo: perseguía
Perseguir is regular in the imperfect: perseguía, perseguías, perseguía...
Future
yo: perseguiré
Perseguir is regular in the future tense: just add endings to the full infinitive.
Conditional
yo: perseguiría
The conditional of perseguir is regular: add -ía endings to the infinitive.
Present Subjunctive
yo: persiga
The present subjunctive uses the 'persig-' stem: persiga, persigas, persiga...
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: persiguiera
The imperfect subjunctive is based on the third-person preterite stem: persiguiera.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: persigue
Use 'persigue' (tú) or 'persiga' (usted) to tell someone to go after something.
Negative Imperative
yo: no persigas
Negative commands always use the present subjunctive: no persigas, no persiga.