Calificar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of calificar — "to grade, to qualify" 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 calificar 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. Calificar means to grade or to qualify, and it covers grading students, rating work as excellent, qualifying a team for a tournament and rating a film with five stars. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él califica a los alumnos con notas. — "He/she grades the students with marks." 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: calificar

Every person of calificar in the present tense. The gerund is calificando and the past participle is calificado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo califico
tú calificas
él/ella/Ud. califica
nosotros/as calificamos
vosotros/as calificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. califican

How the present indicative of calificar is formed

The present indicative of calificar is built from the stem calific- 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 califico
tú -as calificas
él/ella/Ud. -a califica
nosotros/as -amos calificamos
vosotros/as -áis calificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an califican

calificar 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 califico in particular.

The gerund of calificar is calificando and the past participle is calificado. 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 calificar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and calificar 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 calificar, this use looks like this: "Yo califico a los alumnos con notas." — "I grade the students with marks." 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 calificar, this use looks like this: "Él califica el trabajo como excelente." — "He/she grades the work as excellent." 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 calificar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros calificamos al equipo en el torneo." — "We grade the team in the tournament." 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 calificar, this use looks like this: "Ellos califican la película con cinco estrellas." — "They grade the film with five stars." 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 calificar, this use looks like this: "Tú calificas a los alumnos con notas." — "You grade the students with marks." 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 calificar. 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 califico a los alumnos con notas." — "I grade the students with marks."
  • Preterite: "Yo califiqué a los alumnos con notas." — "I graded the students with marks." 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 califica el trabajo como excelente." — "He/she grades the work as excellent."
  • Preterite: "Él calificó el trabajo como excelente." — "He/she graded the work as excellent." 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 calificamos al equipo en el torneo." — "We grade the team in the tournament."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros calificamos al equipo en el torneo." — "We graded the team in the tournament." 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 calificar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo califico a los alumnos con notas. — I grade the students with marks.
  2. Tú calificas el trabajo como excelente. — You grade the work as excellent.
  3. Él califica al equipo en el torneo. — He/she grades the team in the tournament.
  4. Nosotros calificamos la película con cinco estrellas. — We grade the film with five stars.
  5. Vosotros calificáis a los alumnos con notas. — You all grade the students with marks.
  6. Ellos califican el trabajo como excelente. — They grade the work as excellent.
  7. Yo califico al equipo en el torneo. — I grade the team in the tournament.
  8. Él califica la película con cinco estrellas. — He/she grades the film with five stars.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros calificais el trabajo como excelente. — Right: Vosotros calificáis el trabajo como excelente. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: calificáis, not calificais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo califico al equipo en el torneo. — Right: Ayer, yo califiqué al equipo en el torneo. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (califiqué), not the present (califico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo califica a los alumnos con notas. — Right: Yo califico a los alumnos con notas. — The person matters: califica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is califico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy calificado el trabajo como excelente. — Right: Yo he calificado el trabajo como excelente. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he calificado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los alumnos con notas. (present tense) A. califico B. calificas C. califica D. calificamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el trabajo como excelente. (present tense) A. calificas B. califico C. califica D. calificamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ al equipo en el torneo. (present tense) A. califica B. califico C. calificas D. calificamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la película con cinco estrellas. (present tense) A. calificamos B. califico C. calificas D. califica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ a los alumnos con notas. (present tense) A. calificáis B. califico C. calificas D. califica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el trabajo como excelente. (present tense) A. califican B. califico C. calificas D. califica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al equipo en el torneo. (present tense) A. califico B. calificas C. califica D. calificamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la película con cinco estrellas. (present tense) A. califica B. califico C. calificas D. calificamos

Answer key

  1. califico — The yo present form of calificar is califico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. calificas — The tu present form of calificar is calificas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. califica — The el present form of calificar is califica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. calificamos — The nosotros present form of calificar is calificamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. calificáis — The vosotros present form of calificar is calificáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. califican — The ellos present form of calificar is califican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. califico — The yo present form of calificar is califico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. califica — The el present form of calificar is califica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of calificar?

Use the present tense of calificar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo califico a los alumnos con notas. — "I grade the students with marks." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of calificar formed?

Take the stem calific- 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 calificar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo califico el trabajo como excelente. with Yo califiqué el trabajo como excelente. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of calificar?

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

Related links