The Present Tense of hablar is used to describe actions happening at the present moment or habitual actions. For example, Hablo español con mi familia. (I speak Spanish with my family.)

Hablar is a regular -ar verb, which means its conjugations follow the typical pattern for verbs ending in -ar in the present tense.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Hablar (to speak) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

Hablar generally means to speak or to talk, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

To speak a language: for example, Yo hablo español (I speak Spanish).

To talk about something: for example, Hablamos de política (We talk about politics).

To communicate verbally: for example, Ellos hablan por teléfono (They speak on the phone).

To gossip (colloquial): for example, ¿De qué habláis vosotros? (What are you guys gossiping about?).

To speak up/out (colloquial): for example, ¡Habla claro! (Speak up/clearly!).

To reveal secrets (rude): for example, ¡No hables más de lo que debes! (Don’t talk more than you should!).

Examples

Examples of Hablar in the Present Tense

Yo hablo español con fluidez. (I speak Spanish fluently.)

Mis amigos hablan varios idiomas. (My friends speak several languages.)

¿Hablas inglés? (Do you speak English?)

En la oficina, hablamos sobre los nuevos proyectos. (At the office, we talk about the new projects.)

Ellos hablan muy rápido, es difícil entenderlos. (They speak very fast, it’s hard to understand them.)

¿Qué idiomas habláis en tu familia? (What languages do you speak in your family?)

Los niños hablan sin parar durante el recreo. (The kids talk non-stop during recess.)

Cuando hablamos por teléfono, la conexión es mala. (When we talk on the phone, the connection is bad.)

Mi vecina habla muy alto por las noches. (My neighbor talks very loudly at night.)

En la reunión, hablamos sobre las nuevas estrategias de marketing. (In the meeting, we talked about the new marketing strategies.)

¿Por qué habláis tan bajo? No os puedo oír. (Why are you speaking so softly? I can’t hear you.)

Los políticos hablan mucho pero hacen poco. (Politicians talk a lot but do little.)

Cuando hablo en público, me pongo nervioso. (When I speak in public, I get nervous.)

Mis abuelos hablan un dialecto muy peculiar. (My grandparents speak a very peculiar dialect.)

¿Qué hablas? ¡No te entiendo nada! (What are you saying? I don’t understand you at all!)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Hablar (to speak) 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.