Present Tense Of Nadar

Use the present tense for habits, general truths, and things happening now. In everyday Spanish, this tense does a lot of work. Sometimes it means I swim, and sometimes context makes it feel like I’m swimming.

Pronoun	Conjugation	English Meaning
yo	nado	I swim
tú	nadas	you swim
él / ella / usted	nada	he / she / you swim
nosotros / nosotras	nadamos	we swim
ellos / ellas / ustedes	nadan	they / you all swim

Rule → Example: use the present for routines. Nado en la alberca tres veces por semana. = I swim in the pool three times a week.

• Yo nado antes del trabajo. = I swim before work.
• Tú nadas muy bien. = You swim very well.
• Nosotros nadamos los sábados. = We swim on Saturdays.

Past Tenses: Preterite Vs. Imperfect

This is where a lot of learners sigh dramatically into the deep end. The fix is simple: use the preterite for a completed action, and the imperfect for repeated past actions, background, or “used to” ideas.

Future, Conditional, And Near Future

These are the forms you need for plans, predictions, and polite hypotheticals. They are all useful, but the near future with ir a + infinitive is especially common in conversation.

Tense	yo	tú	él / ella / usted	nosotros	ellos / ustedes
Future	nadaré	nadarás	nadará	nadaremos	nadarán
Conditional	nadaría	nadarías	nadaría	nadaríamos	nadarían
Near Future	voy a nadar	vas a nadar	va a nadar	vamos a nadar	van a nadar

• Mañana nadaré en el club. = Tomorrow I will swim at the club.
• Yo nadaría más, pero no tengo tiempo. = I would swim more, but I don’t have time.
• Esta tarde vamos a nadar. = This afternoon we are going to swim.

Subjunctive And Commands

You need the present subjunctive after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, advice, and some conjunctions. You also need it for negative commands. Tiny mood shift, big grammar energy.

Present Subjunctive

Pronoun	Conjugation	English Meaning
yo	nade	that I swim
tú	nades	that you swim
él / ella / usted	nade	that he / she / you swim
nosotros / nosotras	nademos	that we swim
ellos / ellas / ustedes	naden	that they / you all swim

• Quiero que nades conmigo. = I want you to swim with me.
• Es bueno que los niños naden con supervisión. = It’s good for children to swim with supervision.
• Dudo que ellos naden hoy. = I doubt they will swim today.

Commands In Everyday Spanish

Person	Affirmative	Negative	English Meaning
tú	nada	no nades	swim / don’t swim
usted	nade	no nade	swim / don’t swim
nosotros	nademos	no nademos	let’s swim / let’s not swim
ustedes	naden	no naden	swim / don’t swim

Mexican Spanish note: you will hear and use ustedes naden much more than Spain’s vosotros nadad. Both are correct in their regions. Pick the one that matches the Spanish you want to sound natural in.

Useful Phrases With Nadar

Conjugation is nice, but real life is nicer. Here are high-utility phrases you can actually use at the pool, beach, gym, or during random conversations with surprisingly sporty relatives.

Spanish Phrase	English Meaning	Example Sentence
ir a nadar	to go swimming	Vamos a nadar después del trabajo.
nadar en la alberca	to swim in the pool	Me gusta nadar en la alberca temprano.
nadar en el mar	to swim in the sea	No quiero nadar en el mar cuando hay olas grandes.
nadar de espaldas	to swim on your back	Cuando me canso, prefiero nadar de espaldas.
nadar rápido	to swim fast	Ella nada rápido, pero yo resisto más tiempo.
aprender a nadar	to learn to swim	Mi sobrino está aprendiendo a nadar este verano.
saber nadar	to know how to swim	¿Sabes nadar o prefieres quedarte en la orilla?
nadar por una hora	to swim for an hour	Los sábados suelo nadar por una hora.
dejar de nadar	to stop swimming	Tuvimos que dejar de nadar porque empezó a llover.
nadar contra la corriente	to swim against the current	No conviene nadar contra la corriente en esa playa.
nadar en dinero	to be swimming in money	No nadamos en dinero, así que buscamos una alberca pública.
como pez en el agua	like a fish in water	En la alberca olímpica, ella se siente como pez en el agua.

Small regional note: in Mexico, alberca is very common for pool. You will also hear piscina, and everyone understands it, but alberca feels especially natural in Mexican Spanish.

Compound Forms You Will See A Lot

To make perfect tenses, use a form of haber + nadado. The past participle does not change here. Nice and easy, for once.

Form	Spanish	English Meaning
Present Perfect	he nadado	I have swum
Past Perfect	había nadado	I had swum
Future Perfect	habré nadado	I will have swum
Conditional Perfect	habría nadado	I would have swum

• Esta semana he nadado dos veces. = I’ve swum twice this week.
• Ya había nadado cuando llegaste. = I had already swum when you arrived.
• Para las ocho, habré nadado un kilómetro. = By eight, I will have swum one kilometer.

Common Mistakes And Fast Fixes

• Mistake: thinking nadar changes its stem. Fix: it does not. It stays nad-.
• Mistake: forgetting the accents in nadé and nadó. Fix: memorize them as the classic preterite accent pair.
• Mistake: using the preterite when you mean “used to.” Fix: use the imperfect: nadaba.
• Mistake: freezing when you see nadamos. Fix: look for time words like hoy or ayer.
• Mistake: overusing the progressive. Fix: Spanish often prefers simple present: Ahora nado can work in context, not only estoy nadando.
• Mistake: using vosotros forms when learning Mexican Spanish. Fix: focus on ustedes forms first.

Practice With Nadar

Fill in the blank with the correct form of nadar. Tiny workout, no goggles needed.

1. Ayer yo ______ en la alberca por treinta minutos.
2. Cuando era niña, mi mamá ______ todos los veranos.
3. Mañana nosotros ______ en el mar si el clima está bien.
4. Quiero que ustedes ______ con cuidado.
5. No ______ aquí; el agua está sucia.
6. Este fin de semana vamos a ______ en el lago.

See The Answers

1. nadé
2. nadaba
3. nadaremos
4. naden
5. nades
6. nadar

More Forms You Might Need Later

These are not the first forms most beginners need, but they are good to recognize when they show up in books, exams, or slightly dramatic formal Spanish.

Tense	yo	tú	él / ella / usted	nosotros	ellos / ustedes
Imperfect Subjunctive	nadara	nadaras	nadara	nadáramos	nadaran
Present Progressive	estoy nadando	estás nadando	está nadando	estamos nadando	están nadando
Present Perfect	he nadado	has nadado	ha nadado	hemos nadado	han nadado

Quick Reference Summary

Use	Best Form	Example
habit / general action	nado, nadas, nada…	Nado cada mañana.
finished past action	nadé, nadaste, nadó…	Ayer nadé en la alberca.
used to / repeated past	nadaba, nadabas…	De niño nadaba mucho.
future plan	nadaré or voy a nadar	Mañana voy a nadar.
hypothetical	nadaría	Nadaría más en vacaciones.
wish / doubt / recommendation	nade, nades…	Quiero que nades conmigo.
command	nada / no nades	¡Nada! / ¡No nades ahí!
action in progress	estoy nadando	Ahora estoy nadando.
have swum	he nadado	Esta semana he nadado dos veces.

Keep this page handy, come back to the charts, and say the forms out loud. A regular verb like nadar gets friendly fast once your mouth has practiced it a few times.