Certificar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of certificar — "to certify" 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 certificar 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. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Él certifica la autenticidad del cuadro. — "He/she certifies the painting's authenticity." 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: certificar

Every person of certificar in the present tense. The gerund is certificando and the past participle is certificado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo certifico
tú certificas
él/ella/Ud. certifica
nosotros/as certificamos
vosotros/as certificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. certifican

How the present indicative of certificar is formed

The present indicative of certificar is built from the stem certific- 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 certifico
tú -as certificas
él/ella/Ud. -a certifica
nosotros/as -amos certificamos
vosotros/as -áis certificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an certifican

certificar 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 certifico in particular.

The gerund of certificar is certificando and the past participle is certificado. 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 certificar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and certificar 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 certificar, this use looks like this: "Yo certifico la autenticidad del cuadro." — "I certify the painting's authenticity." 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 certificar, this use looks like this: "Él certifica el nivel de inglés del alumno." — "He/she certifies the student's level of English." 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 certificar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros certificamos la calidad del producto." — "We certify the quality of the product." 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 certificar, this use looks like this: "Ellos certifican la firma ante notario." — "They certify the signature before a notary." 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 certificar, this use looks like this: "Tú certificas la autenticidad del cuadro." — "You certify the painting's authenticity." 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 certificar. 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 certifico la autenticidad del cuadro." — "I certify the painting's authenticity."
  • Preterite: "Yo certifiqué la autenticidad del cuadro." — "I certified the painting's authenticity." 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 certifica el nivel de inglés del alumno." — "He/she certifies the student's level of English."
  • Preterite: "Él certificó el nivel de inglés del alumno." — "He/she certified the student's level of English." 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 certificamos la calidad del producto." — "We certify the quality of the product."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros certificamos la calidad del producto." — "We certified the quality of the product." 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 certificar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo certifico la autenticidad del cuadro. — I certify the painting's authenticity.
  2. Tú certificas el nivel de inglés del alumno. — You certify the student's level of English.
  3. Él certifica la calidad del producto. — He/she certifies the quality of the product.
  4. Nosotros certificamos la firma ante notario. — We certify the signature before a notary.
  5. Vosotros certificáis la autenticidad del cuadro. — You all certify the painting's authenticity.
  6. Ellos certifican el nivel de inglés del alumno. — They certify the student's level of English.
  7. Yo certifico la calidad del producto. — I certify the quality of the product.
  8. Él certifica la firma ante notario. — He/she certifies the signature before a notary.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros certificais el nivel de inglés del alumno. — Right: Vosotros certificáis el nivel de inglés del alumno. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: certificáis, not certificais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo certifico la calidad del producto. — Right: Ayer, yo certifiqué la calidad del producto. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (certifiqué), not the present (certifico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. 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.
  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. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of certificar. Choose the right form, then 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: Tú ___ el nivel de inglés del alumno. (present tense) A. certificas B. certifico C. certifica D. certificamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la calidad del producto. (present tense) A. certifica B. certifico C. certificas D. certificamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la firma ante notario. (present tense) A. certificamos B. certifico C. certificas D. certifica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la autenticidad del cuadro. (present tense) A. certificáis B. certifico C. certificas D. certifica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el nivel de inglés del alumno. (present tense) A. certifican B. certifico C. certificas D. certifica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la calidad del producto. (present tense) A. certifico B. certificas C. certifica D. certificamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la firma ante notario. (present tense) A. certifica B. certifico C. certificas D. certificamos

Answer key

  1. certifico — The yo present form of certificar is certifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. certificas — The tu present form of certificar is certificas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. certifica — The el present form of certificar is certifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. certificamos — The nosotros present form of certificar is certificamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. certificáis — The vosotros present form of certificar is certificáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. certifican — The ellos present form of certificar is certifican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. certifico — The yo present form of certificar is certifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. certifica — The el present form of certificar is certifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of certificar?

Use the present tense of certificar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo certifico la autenticidad del cuadro. — "I certify the painting's authenticity." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of certificar formed?

Take the stem certific- 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 certificar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo certifico el nivel de inglés del alumno. with Yo certifiqué el nivel de inglés del alumno. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of certificar?

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

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