The Present Tense of secar is used to describe actions that are happening right now or that occur habitually. For example, Seco la ropa después de lavarla. (I dry the clothes after washing them.)

Secar 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 Secar (to dry) in the Present Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

Secar generally means to dry or to make dry, but has several different meanings in the Present Tense, some of which might surprise you.

To dry (something): for example, Yo seco la ropa al sol (I dry the clothes in the sun).

To dry up/drain: for example, El río se seca en verano (The river dries up in summer).

To wipe dry: for example, Tú secas los platos después de lavarlos (You dry the dishes after washing them).

To dry out (a liquid): for example, Ella seca la pintura antes de aplicarla (She dries out the paint before applying it).

To dry up (a source of income): for example, La crisis económica nos seca los ahorros (The economic crisis dries up our savings).

To ignore/give the cold shoulder (colloquial): for example, Él me seca cuando le pido un favor (He ignores me when I ask him a favor).

Examples

Examples of Secar in the Present Tense

Yo seco la ropa después de lavarla. (I dry the clothes after washing them.)

Tú secas tu cabello con el secador después de bañarte. (You dry your hair with the hair dryer after bathing.)

Ella seca los platos con un paño después de lavarlos. (She dries the dishes with a cloth after washing them.)

Nosotros secamos las manos con toallas de papel después de lavarnos. (We dry our hands with paper towels after washing them.)

¿Secáis la ropa en la secadora o la tienden al aire libre? (Do you dry the clothes in the dryer or hang them out to dry?)

Ellos secan la pintura con un secador especial después de aplicarla. (They dry the paint with a special dryer after applying it.)

En la peluquería, secan mi cabello con un secador profesional. (At the hair salon, they dry my hair with a professional hair dryer.)

Después de lavar el carro, seco los espejos con un paño seco. (After washing the car, I dry the mirrors with a dry cloth.)

¿Por qué no secas tus lágrimas y me cuentas qué pasó? (Why don’t you dry your tears and tell me what happened?)

Los niños secan sus mochilas en el sol después de la lluvia. (The kids dry their backpacks in the sun after the rain.)

Cuando secamos la ropa al aire libre, huele tan fresca. (When we air-dry the clothes, they smell so fresh.)

¿Secáis las frutas en el horno o las dejan secar al sol? (Do you dry the fruits in the oven or let them air-dry in the sun?)

Después de nadar, secan sus cuerpos con toallas de playa. (After swimming, they dry their bodies with beach towels.)

Antes de pintar, seco la superficie con un trapo para quitar el polvo. (Before painting, I dry the surface with a rag to remove the dust.)

¿Puedes secar las lágrimas de tu hermano pequeño? Está llorando. (Can you dry your little brother’s tears? He’s crying.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Secar (to dry) 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.