Complicar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of complicar — "to complicate" 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 complicar 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. Complicar means to complicate, and it is used for complicating a situation with lies, a problem by rushing and a procedure with new papers. It is the opposite of simplificar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él complica la situación con mentiras. — "He/she complicates the situation with lies." 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: complicar

Every person of complicar in the present tense. The gerund is complicando and the past participle is complicado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo complico
tú complicas
él/ella/Ud. complica
nosotros/as complicamos
vosotros/as complicáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. complican

How the present indicative of complicar is formed

The present indicative of complicar is built from the stem complic- 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 complico
tú -as complicas
él/ella/Ud. -a complica
nosotros/as -amos complicamos
vosotros/as -áis complicáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an complican

complicar 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 complico in particular.

The gerund of complicar is complicando and the past participle is complicado. 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 complicar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and complicar 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 complicar, this use looks like this: "Yo complico la situación con mentiras." — "I complicate the situation with lies." 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 complicar, this use looks like this: "Él complica el problema con prisas." — "He/she complicates the problem by rushing." 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 complicar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros complicamos la vida a sus padres." — "We complicate life for his parents." 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 complicar, this use looks like this: "Ellos complican el trámite con papeles nuevos." — "They complicate the procedure with new papers." 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 complicar, this use looks like this: "Tú complicas la situación con mentiras." — "You complicate the situation with lies." 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 complicar. 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 complico la situación con mentiras." — "I complicate the situation with lies."
  • Preterite: "Yo compliqué la situación con mentiras." — "I complicated the situation with lies." 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 complica el problema con prisas." — "He/she complicates the problem by rushing."
  • Preterite: "Él complicó el problema con prisas." — "He/she complicated the problem by rushing." 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 complicamos la vida a sus padres." — "We complicate life for his parents."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros complicamos la vida a sus padres." — "We complicated life for his parents." 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 complicar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo complico la situación con mentiras. — I complicate the situation with lies.
  2. Tú complicas el problema con prisas. — You complicate the problem by rushing.
  3. Él complica la vida a sus padres. — He/she complicates life for his parents.
  4. Nosotros complicamos el trámite con papeles nuevos. — We complicate the procedure with new papers.
  5. Vosotros complicáis la situación con mentiras. — You all complicate the situation with lies.
  6. Ellos complican el problema con prisas. — They complicate the problem by rushing.
  7. Yo complico la vida a sus padres. — I complicate life for his parents.
  8. Él complica el trámite con papeles nuevos. — He/she complicates the procedure with new papers.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros complicais el problema con prisas. — Right: Vosotros complicáis el problema con prisas. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: complicáis, not complicais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo complico la vida a sus padres. — Right: Ayer, yo compliqué la vida a sus padres. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (compliqué), not the present (complico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo complica la situación con mentiras. — Right: Yo complico la situación con mentiras. — The person matters: complica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is complico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy complicado el problema con prisas. — Right: Yo he complicado el problema con prisas. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he complicado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la situación con mentiras. (present tense) A. complico B. complicas C. complica D. complicamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el problema con prisas. (present tense) A. complicas B. complico C. complica D. complicamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la vida a sus padres. (present tense) A. complica B. complico C. complicas D. complicamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el trámite con papeles nuevos. (present tense) A. complicamos B. complico C. complicas D. complica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la situación con mentiras. (present tense) A. complicáis B. complico C. complicas D. complica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el problema con prisas. (present tense) A. complican B. complico C. complicas D. complica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la vida a sus padres. (present tense) A. complico B. complicas C. complica D. complicamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el trámite con papeles nuevos. (present tense) A. complica B. complico C. complicas D. complicamos

Answer key

  1. complico — The yo present form of complicar is complico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. complicas — The tu present form of complicar is complicas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. complica — The el present form of complicar is complica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. complicamos — The nosotros present form of complicar is complicamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. complicáis — The vosotros present form of complicar is complicáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. complican — The ellos present form of complicar is complican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. complico — The yo present form of complicar is complico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. complica — The el present form of complicar is complica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of complicar?

Use the present tense of complicar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo complico la situación con mentiras. — "I complicate the situation with lies." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of complicar formed?

Take the stem complic- 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 complicar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo complico el problema con prisas. with Yo compliqué el problema con prisas. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of complicar?

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

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