respectar Present Conjugation
respectar — to concern
The present indicative of respectar is regular: respeto, respetas, respeta, respetamos, respetáis, respetan.
respectar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present indicative of respectar for actions happening now, habitual actions, or general truths. For example, 'He respects his elders' or 'We always respect the rules'.
Notes on respectar in the Present
Respectar is regular in the present indicative. The 'vosotros' form 'respetáis' is standard for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo respeto mucho tus opiniones.
I respect your opinions a lot.
yo
¿Tú respetas las señales de tráfico?
Do you respect the traffic signs?
tú
Ella respeta a sus profesores.
She respects her teachers.
él/ella/usted
Respetamos la naturaleza cuando vamos de excursión.
We respect nature when we go hiking.
nosotros
Ellos respetan las normas de la comunidad.
They respect the community rules.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the present subjunctive instead of the present indicative for facts.
Correct: Use 'respeto', 'respetas', etc., for stating facts or habits.
Why: The indicative mood is for factual statements, while the subjunctive is for uncertainty, wishes, etc.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'respetáis' for 'vosotros'.
Correct: The correct form is 'respetáis', with an accent on the 'i'.
Why: The accent is needed to maintain the correct stress pattern for this verb ending.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: respecté
The preterite of respectar is regular: respecté, respetaste, respetó, respetamos, respetasteis, respectaron.
Imperfect
yo: respectaba
The imperfect of respectar is regular: respectaba, respectabas, respectaba, respectábamos, respectabais, respectaban.
Future
yo: respectaré
The future of respectar is regular: respetaré, respetarás, respetará, respetaremos, respetaréis, respetarán.
Conditional
yo: respectaría
The conditional of respectar is regular: respetaría, respetarías, respetaría, respetaríamos, respetaríais, respetarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: respecte
The present subjunctive of respectar is regular: respete, respetes, respetemos, respetéis, respeten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: respectara
The imperfect subjunctive of respectar uses -ra or -se endings: respectara, respectaras, respectase, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: respecta
The imperative of respectar is regular: respeta, respete, respetemos, respetad, respeten.
Negative Imperative
yo: no respectes
The negative imperative of respectar uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no respetes, no respete, no respetemos, no respetéis, no respeten.