Dedicar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of dedicar — "to dedicate, to devote" 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 dedicar 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. Dedicar means to dedicate or to devote, and it covers dedicating a book to your mother, dedicating a song, devoting time to your children and devoting an afternoon to tidying. It takes a for the person, and it is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él dedica el libro a su madre. — "He/she dedicates the book to his mother." 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: dedicar

Every person of dedicar in the present tense. The gerund is dedicando and the past participle is dedicado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo dedico
tú dedicas
él/ella/Ud. dedica
nosotros/as dedicamos
vosotros/as dedicáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. dedican

How the present indicative of dedicar is formed

The present indicative of dedicar is built from the stem dedic- 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 dedico
tú -as dedicas
él/ella/Ud. -a dedica
nosotros/as -amos dedicamos
vosotros/as -áis dedicáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an dedican

dedicar 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 dedico in particular.

The gerund of dedicar is dedicando and the past participle is dedicado. 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 dedicar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and dedicar 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 dedicar, this use looks like this: "Yo dedico el libro a su madre." — "I dedicate the book to his mother." 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 dedicar, this use looks like this: "Él dedica una canción a su novia." — "He/she dedicates a song to his girlfriend." 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 dedicar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros dedicamos tiempo a sus hijos." — "We dedicate time to his children." 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 dedicar, this use looks like this: "Ellos dedican la tarde a ordenar la casa." — "They dedicate the afternoon to tidying the house." 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 dedicar, this use looks like this: "Tú dedicas el libro a su madre." — "You dedicate the book to his mother." 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 dedicar. 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 dedico el libro a su madre." — "I dedicate the book to his mother."
  • Preterite: "Yo dediqué el libro a su madre." — "I dedicated the book to his mother." 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 dedica una canción a su novia." — "He/she dedicates a song to his girlfriend."
  • Preterite: "Él dedicó una canción a su novia." — "He/she dedicated a song to his girlfriend." 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 dedicamos tiempo a sus hijos." — "We dedicate time to his children."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros dedicamos tiempo a sus hijos." — "We dedicated time to his children." 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 dedicar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo dedico el libro a su madre. — I dedicate the book to his mother.
  2. Tú dedicas una canción a su novia. — You dedicate a song to his girlfriend.
  3. Él dedica tiempo a sus hijos. — He/she dedicates time to his children.
  4. Nosotros dedicamos la tarde a ordenar la casa. — We dedicate the afternoon to tidying the house.
  5. Vosotros dedicáis el libro a su madre. — You all dedicate the book to his mother.
  6. Ellos dedican una canción a su novia. — They dedicate a song to his girlfriend.
  7. Yo dedico tiempo a sus hijos. — I dedicate time to his children.
  8. Él dedica la tarde a ordenar la casa. — He/she dedicates the afternoon to tidying the house.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros dedicais una canción a su novia. — Right: Vosotros dedicáis una canción a su novia. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: dedicáis, not dedicais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo dedico tiempo a sus hijos. — Right: Ayer, yo dediqué tiempo a sus hijos. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (dediqué), not the present (dedico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo dedica el libro a su madre. — Right: Yo dedico el libro a su madre. — The person matters: dedica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is dedico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy dedicado una canción a su novia. — Right: Yo he dedicado una canción a su novia. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he dedicado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el libro a su madre. (present tense) A. dedico B. dedicas C. dedica D. dedicamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ una canción a su novia. (present tense) A. dedicas B. dedico C. dedica D. dedicamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ tiempo a sus hijos. (present tense) A. dedica B. dedico C. dedicas D. dedicamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la tarde a ordenar la casa. (present tense) A. dedicamos B. dedico C. dedicas D. dedica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ el libro a su madre. (present tense) A. dedicáis B. dedico C. dedicas D. dedica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ una canción a su novia. (present tense) A. dedican B. dedico C. dedicas D. dedica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ tiempo a sus hijos. (present tense) A. dedico B. dedicas C. dedica D. dedicamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la tarde a ordenar la casa. (present tense) A. dedica B. dedico C. dedicas D. dedicamos

Answer key

  1. dedico — The yo present form of dedicar is dedico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. dedicas — The tu present form of dedicar is dedicas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. dedica — The el present form of dedicar is dedica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. dedicamos — The nosotros present form of dedicar is dedicamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. dedicáis — The vosotros present form of dedicar is dedicáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. dedican — The ellos present form of dedicar is dedican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. dedico — The yo present form of dedicar is dedico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. dedica — The el present form of dedicar is dedica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of dedicar?

Use the present tense of dedicar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo dedico el libro a su madre. — "I dedicate the book to his mother." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of dedicar formed?

Take the stem dedic- 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 dedicar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo dedico una canción a su novia. with Yo dediqué una canción a su novia. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of dedicar?

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

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