The Present Tense of calentar is used to describe actions happening right now or habitual actions, for example: Caliento la comida en el microondas. (I heat up the food in the microwave.)

Calentar is a stem-changing verb, meaning the vowel in the stem changes in certain conjugations. For the present tense, the e changes to ie in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Calentar (to heat) in the Present Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

Calentar generally means to heat or warm something up, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

To heat or warm up: This is the most common meaning, for example, Yo caliento la comida en el microondas (I heat up the food in the microwave).

To excite or arouse: Used colloquially, for example, Esa película me calienta (That movie excites/arouses me).

To annoy or bother: In some contexts, it can mean to annoy or bother someone, for example, No me calientes con tus bromas (Don’t bother/annoy me with your jokes).

To intensify or heat up: It can also mean to intensify or heat up a situation, for example, La discusión se calienta cada vez más (The discussion is heating up more and more).

To warm up: In the context of sports or exercise, it can mean to warm up, for example, Los jugadores calientan antes del partido (The players warm up before the game).

Examples

Examples of Calentar in the Present Tense

Yo caliento el horno antes de hornear. (I preheat the oven before baking.)

¿Por qué calientas la comida en el microondas? (Why do you heat up the food in the microwave?)

Mi mamá calienta la leche para hacer chocolate caliente. (My mom heats up the milk to make hot chocolate.)

Calentamos la casa con la chimenea en invierno. (We heat the house with the fireplace in winter.)

Los atletas calientan antes de competir. (The athletes warm up before competing.)

En la mañana, caliento agua para el café. (In the morning, I heat up water for coffee.)

¿Por qué calientas la tortilla antes de rellenarla? (Why do you heat up the tortilla before filling it?)

El sol calienta la tierra durante el día. (The sun heats up the earth during the day.)

Calentamos las sobras para la cena. (We heat up the leftovers for dinner.)

Los fanáticos calientan el ambiente en el estadio. (The fans heat up the atmosphere in the stadium.)

Yo caliento mis músculos antes de hacer ejercicio. (I warm up my muscles before exercising.)

¿Por qué calientas la cera para hacer velas? (Why do you heat up the wax to make candles?)

El mecánico calienta el motor antes de revisarlo. (The mechanic warms up the engine before checking it.)

Calentamos las toallas en la secadora antes de usarlas. (We heat up the towels in the dryer before using them.)

Los chefs calientan los platos antes de servir. (The chefs heat up the plates before serving.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Calentar (to heat) in the Present Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Present tense is also known as the Simple Present, Present Simple, Present Tense, or Present Indicative in English, and as Presente de Indicativo, Presente Simple, Tiempo Presente, or Indicativo Presente in Spanish.