Certificar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

certificar means to certify, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Certificar means to certify, and it is used for certifying the authenticity of a painting, a student's level of English, the quality of a product and a signature before a notary. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. This page puts certificar to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for certificar, and the full tables are on the certificar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo certifico la autenticidad del cuadro. — I certify the painting's authenticity.
  2. Él certifica el nivel de inglés del alumno. — He/she certifies the student's level of English.
  3. Ayer, yo certifiqué la calidad del producto. — Yesterday, I certified the quality of the product.
  4. Antes, nosotros certificábamos la firma ante notario. — Before, we used to certify the signature before a notary.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú certificarás la autenticidad del cuadro. — Tomorrow, you will certify the painting's authenticity.
  2. Yo certificaría el nivel de inglés del alumno. — I would certify the student's level of English.
  3. Él ha certificado la calidad del producto. — He/she has certified the quality of the product.
  4. Espero que él certifique la firma ante notario. — I hope he/she certifies the signature before a notary.

With other people

  1. Nosotros certificamos la autenticidad del cuadro. — We certify the painting's authenticity.
  2. Vosotros certificáis el nivel de inglés del alumno. — You all certify the student's level of English.
  3. Antes, ellos certificaban la calidad del producto. — Before, they used to certify the quality of the product.
  4. Mañana, él certificará la firma ante notario. — Tomorrow, he/she will certify the signature before a notary.

Certificar in context

Two short dialogues that use certificar the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy certifico la autenticidad del cuadro." — "Today I certify the painting's authenticity."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, certifiqué la calidad del producto." — "Yesterday I certified the quality of the product."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú certificarás el nivel de inglés del alumno?" — "And tomorrow, will you will certify the student's level of English?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros certificamos la firma ante notario." — "Tomorrow we certify the signature before a notary."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo certificaría el nivel de inglés del alumno si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would certify the student's level of English if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él certifique la autenticidad del cuadro." — "I hope he certifies the painting's authenticity."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha certificado la calidad del producto." — "Surely. He has already has certified the quality of the product."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo certifica la autenticidad del cuadro. — Right: Yo certifico la autenticidad del cuadro. — The person matters: certifica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is certifico. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo certificé el nivel de inglés del alumno. — Right: Yo certifiqué el nivel de inglés del alumno. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is certifiqué, not certificé. certificar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating certificar and confirmar as identical in every context. — Right: Certificar means to certify, while confirmar means to confirm, the close verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: certificar fits sentences such as Certifico la autenticidad del cuadro, while confirmar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy certificado el nivel de inglés del alumno. — Right: Yo he certificado el nivel de inglés del alumno. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he certificado, has certificado, ha certificado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo certifiqué la calidad del producto todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo certificaba la calidad del producto todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (certificaba), not the preterite. The preterite (certifiqué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on certificar: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la autenticidad del cuadro. (present tense) A. certifico B. certificas C. certifica D. certificamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el nivel de inglés del alumno. (preterite tense) A. certifiqué B. certificaste C. certificamos D. certificó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la calidad del producto. (future tense) A. certificará B. certificaremos C. certificarás D. certificaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la firma ante notario. (imperfect tense) A. certificabais B. certificábamos C. certificaba D. certificabas

  5. What does "Yo certifico la autenticidad del cuadro." mean in English? A. I certify the painting's authenticity. B. I certify the student's level of English. C. I certify the quality of the product. D. I certify the signature before a notary.

  6. What does "Él certificó el nivel de inglés del alumno." mean in English? A. He/she certified the painting's authenticity. B. He/she certified the quality of the product. C. He/she certified the signature before a notary. D. He/she certified the student's level of English.

  7. What does "Nosotros certificaremos la calidad del producto." mean in English? A. We will certify the student's level of English. B. We will certify the signature before a notary. C. We will certify the quality of the product. D. We will certify the painting's authenticity.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo certifican el nivel de inglés del alumno. B. Yo certifica el nivel de inglés del alumno. C. Yo certifico el nivel de inglés del alumno.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él certifiqué la calidad del producto. B. Él certificó la calidad del producto. C. Él certificaron la calidad del producto.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo certifique la firma ante notario. B. Yo certifice la firma ante notario. C. Yo certifique la firma ante notario.

Answer key

  1. certifico — The yo present form of certificar is certifico.
  2. certificó — The el preterite form of certificar is certificó.
  3. certificarás — The tu future form of certificar is certificarás.
  4. certificábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of certificar is certificábamos.
  5. I certify the painting's authenticity. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form certifico, so the English is "I certify the painting's authenticity." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she certified the student's level of English. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form certificó, so the English is "He/she certified the student's level of English." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will certify the quality of the product. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form certificaremos, so the English is "We will certify the quality of the product." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo certifico el nivel de inglés del alumno. — The correct sentence is "Yo certifico el nivel de inglés del alumno." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él certificó la calidad del producto. — The correct sentence is "Él certificó la calidad del producto." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo certifique la firma ante notario. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo certifique la firma ante notario." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does certificar mean, and when do I use it?

Certificar means to certify. Certificar means to certify, and it is used for certifying the authenticity of a painting, a student's level of English, the quality of a product and a signature before a notary. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. A good first sentence to remember is Yo certifico la autenticidad del cuadro. — "I certify the painting's authenticity."

What is the difference between certificar and confirmar?

Certificar means to certify, while confirmar means to confirm, the close verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use certificar when you mean to certify, as in Yo certifico el nivel de inglés del alumno., and use confirmar for to confirm, the close verb.

How do I say "I certify" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo certifiqué el nivel de inglés del alumno.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo certificaba la calidad del producto.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he certificado el nivel de inglés del alumno..

How do I practise certificar?

Start with the certificar conjugation page for the full tables, then the certificar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is certifiqué and the subjunctive is certifique.

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