The Present Tense of Entretener is used to describe actions that are happening right now or that occur habitually. For example, El payaso entretiene a los niños con sus trucos. (The clown entertains the children with his tricks.)

Entretener is an irregular verb, meaning its conjugations do not follow the standard patterns of regular verbs. You’ll need to memorize its unique set of conjugations in the present tense.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Entretener (to entertain) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

Entretener generally means to entertain or amuse, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

To entertain or amuse: for example, Los payasos entretienen a los niños en el circo. (The clowns entertain the children at the circus.)

To distract or occupy: for example, Entretengo a mi hijo con juegos mientras cocino. (I keep my son occupied with games while I cook.)

To delay or prolong: for example, No me entretengo con excusas, dime la verdad. (I’m not entertaining excuses, tell me the truth.)

To maintain a relationship (colloquial): for example, Juan entretiene a varias chicas a la vez. (Juan is entertaining/seeing several girls at once.)

To deceive or mislead (rude): for example, ¿Me entretienes con mentiras otra vez? (Are you entertaining/feeding me lies again?)

Examples

Examples of Entretener in the Present Tense

Yo entretengo a los niños con juegos y canciones mientras sus padres trabajan. (I entertain the children with games and songs while their parents work.)

¿Qué entretienes a los invitados mientras esperan? (What do you entertain the guests with while they wait?)

La payasa entretiene a los niños en la fiesta con trucos graciosos. (The clown entertains the children at the party with funny tricks.)

En el parque, entretenemos a los niños con juegos al aire libre. (At the park, we entertain the children with outdoor games.)

Ustedes entretienen muy bien a los turistas con sus danzas folclóricas. (You all entertain the tourists very well with your folk dances.)

Los payasos entretienen a la multitud con sus acrobacias y chistes. (The clowns entertain the crowd with their acrobatics and jokes.)

En la sala de espera, entretengo a mi hijo con libros y rompecabezas. (In the waiting room, I entertain my son with books and puzzles.)

¿Cómo entretienes a tus amigos cuando vienen de visita? (How do you entertain your friends when they come to visit?)

El mago entretiene a la audiencia con sus trucos de magia sorprendentes. (The magician entertains the audience with his amazing magic tricks.)

Nosotros entretenemos a los niños con cuentos y manualidades durante el campamento de verano. (We entertain the children with stories and crafts during the summer camp.)

Ustedes entretienen muy bien a los turistas con sus recorridos por la ciudad. (You all entertain the tourists very well with your city tours.)

Los músicos callejeros entretienen a los transeúntes con su música alegre. (The street musicians entertain the passersby with their cheerful music.)

Cuando viajo, entretengo a mis compañeros de viaje con chistes y anécdotas divertidas. (When I travel, I entertain my travel companions with jokes and funny stories.)

¿Cómo entretienes a tus sobrinos cuando vienen a visitarte? (How do you entertain your nephews when they come to visit you?)

El animador entretiene a los huéspedes del hotel con juegos y actividades divertidas. (The entertainer entertains the hotel guests with fun games and activities.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Entretener (to entertain) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American 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.