The Present Tense of quemar is used to describe actions that are happening right now or that occur habitually. For example, Quemo la basura en el patio trasero. (I burn the trash in the backyard.)

Quemar 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 Quemar (to burn) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

Quemar generally means to burn or to set on fire, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

To burn (something): For example, Yo quemo la basura en el patio trasero. (I burn the trash in the backyard.)

To burn (oneself): For example, Me quemo la lengua con el café caliente. (I burn my tongue with the hot coffee.)

To burn (calories/energy): For example, Quemo muchas calorías cuando hago ejercicio. (I burn a lot of calories when I exercise.)

To burn (a CD/DVD): For example, Quemo un disco con mis canciones favoritas. (I burn a disc with my favorite songs.)

To burn (with anger/emotion): For example, Me quemo de rabia cuando me mienten. (I burn with rage when they lie to me.)

To burn out (a lightbulb): For example, Se me quema el foco del baño. (The bathroom lightbulb burns out on me.)

To burn (money/resources): For example, Quemas mucho dinero en videojuegos. (You burn a lot of money on video games.)

Slang: To burn/diss someone: For example, ¡Oye, no me quemes así! (Hey, don’t burn me like that!)

Examples

Examples of Quemar in the Present Tense

Yo quemo la basura todos los sábados. (I burn the trash every Saturday.)

¿Por qué quemas tanto papel? (Why do you burn so much paper?)

Ella quema incienso para relajarse. (She burns incense to relax.)

Nosotros quemamos la hierba mala en el jardín. (We burn the weeds in the garden.)

¿Quemáis la leña en la chimenea? (Do you all burn the firewood in the fireplace?)

Ellos queman las hojas secas en otoño. (They burn the dry leaves in autumn.)

En la cultura latina, a veces quemamos sahumerios en ceremonias especiales. (In Latin culture, we sometimes burn incense in special ceremonies.)

¿Por qué queman esa bandera? ¡Es un símbolo importante! (Why are they burning that flag? It’s an important symbol!)

Los atletas queman muchas calorías durante el entrenamiento. (Athletes burn many calories during training.)

En la oficina, quemamos los documentos confidenciales después de usarlos. (At the office, we burn confidential documents after using them.)

¿Quemas la carne a la parrilla o prefieres cocinarla en el horno? (Do you burn the meat on the grill or do you prefer to cook it in the oven?)

Los manifestantes queman llantas en protesta. (The protesters burn tires in protest.)

Cuando hacemos un picnic, quemamos un poco de leña para hacer s’mores. (When we go on a picnic, we burn some firewood to make s’mores.)

¡No quemes la comida! ¡La cena se va a arruinar! (Don’t burn the food! Dinner will be ruined!)

Los científicos queman combustibles fósiles para estudiar las emisiones de carbono. (Scientists burn fossil fuels to study carbon emissions.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Quemar (to burn) 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.