Aplicar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of aplicar — "to apply" in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for aplicar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Aplicar means to apply, and it covers applying cream to skin, applying a theory in practice, applying a new rule and applying a discount. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él aplica la crema en la piel. — "He/she applies the cream on the skin." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: aplicar

Every person of aplicar in the present tense. The gerund is aplicando and the past participle is aplicado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo aplico
tú aplicas
él/ella/Ud. aplica
nosotros/as aplicamos
vosotros/as aplicáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. aplican

How the present indicative of aplicar is formed

The present indicative of aplicar is built from the stem aplic- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o aplico
tú -as aplicas
él/ella/Ud. -a aplica
nosotros/as -amos aplicamos
vosotros/as -áis aplicáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an aplican

aplicar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form aplico in particular.

The gerund of aplicar is aplicando and the past participle is aplicado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of aplicar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and aplicar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For aplicar, this use looks like this: "Yo aplico la crema en la piel." — "I apply the cream on the skin." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For aplicar, this use looks like this: "Él aplica la teoría en la práctica." — "He/she applies the theory in practice." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For aplicar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros aplicamos una norma nueva en el colegio." — "We apply a new rule at school." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For aplicar, this use looks like this: "Ellos aplican el descuento a la factura." — "They apply the discount to the bill." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For aplicar, this use looks like this: "Tú aplicas la crema en la piel." — "You apply the cream on the skin." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with aplicar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo aplico la crema en la piel." — "I apply the cream on the skin."
  • Preterite: "Yo apliqué la crema en la piel." — "I applied the cream on the skin." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él aplica la teoría en la práctica." — "He/she applies the theory in practice."
  • Preterite: "Él aplicó la teoría en la práctica." — "He/she applied the theory in practice." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros aplicamos una norma nueva en el colegio." — "We apply a new rule at school."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros aplicamos una norma nueva en el colegio." — "We applied a new rule at school." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with aplicar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo aplico la crema en la piel. — I apply the cream on the skin.
  2. Tú aplicas la teoría en la práctica. — You apply the theory in practice.
  3. Él aplica una norma nueva en el colegio. — He/she applies a new rule at school.
  4. Nosotros aplicamos el descuento a la factura. — We apply the discount to the bill.
  5. Vosotros aplicáis la crema en la piel. — You all apply the cream on the skin.
  6. Ellos aplican la teoría en la práctica. — They apply the theory in practice.
  7. Yo aplico una norma nueva en el colegio. — I apply a new rule at school.
  8. Él aplica el descuento a la factura. — He/she applies the discount to the bill.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros aplicais la teoría en la práctica. — Right: Vosotros aplicáis la teoría en la práctica. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: aplicáis, not aplicais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo aplico una norma nueva en el colegio. — Right: Ayer, yo apliqué una norma nueva en el colegio. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (apliqué), not the present (aplico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo aplica la crema en la piel. — Right: Yo aplico la crema en la piel. — The person matters: aplica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is aplico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy aplicado la teoría en la práctica. — Right: Yo he aplicado la teoría en la práctica. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he aplicado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of aplicar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la crema en la piel. (present tense) A. aplico B. aplicas C. aplica D. aplicamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la teoría en la práctica. (present tense) A. aplicas B. aplico C. aplica D. aplicamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ una norma nueva en el colegio. (present tense) A. aplica B. aplico C. aplicas D. aplicamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el descuento a la factura. (present tense) A. aplicamos B. aplico C. aplicas D. aplica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la crema en la piel. (present tense) A. aplicáis B. aplico C. aplicas D. aplica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la teoría en la práctica. (present tense) A. aplican B. aplico C. aplicas D. aplica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ una norma nueva en el colegio. (present tense) A. aplico B. aplicas C. aplica D. aplicamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el descuento a la factura. (present tense) A. aplica B. aplico C. aplicas D. aplicamos

Answer key

  1. aplico — The yo present form of aplicar is aplico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. aplicas — The tu present form of aplicar is aplicas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. aplica — The el present form of aplicar is aplica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. aplicamos — The nosotros present form of aplicar is aplicamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. aplicáis — The vosotros present form of aplicar is aplicáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. aplican — The ellos present form of aplicar is aplican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. aplico — The yo present form of aplicar is aplico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. aplica — The el present form of aplicar is aplica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of aplicar?

Use the present tense of aplicar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo aplico la crema en la piel. — "I apply the cream on the skin." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of aplicar formed?

Take the stem aplic- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes qu before e.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of aplicar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo aplico la teoría en la práctica. with Yo apliqué la teoría en la práctica. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of aplicar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the aplicar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Aplicar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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