Graduar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of graduar — "to graduate" 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 graduar 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. Graduarse means to graduate: graduarse en medicina, graduarse con honores. Without se, graduar means to adjust or grade something, such as graduar la vista for an eye test. To see it in a real sentence: Yo gradúo en medicina en junio — "I graduate in medicine in June".
Present tense conjugation table: graduar
Every person of graduar in the present tense. The gerund is graduando and the past participle is graduado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | gradúo |
| tú | gradúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | gradúa |
| nosotros/as | graduamos |
| vosotros/as | graduáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | gradúan |
How the present of graduar is formed
The present of graduar is built from the stem gradu- 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 | gradúo |
| tú | -as | gradúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | gradúa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | graduamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | graduáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | gradúan |
The gerund of graduar is graduando and the past participle is graduado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of graduar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and graduar 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo gradúo en medicina en junio" — "Every day, I graduate in medicine in June"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo gradúa con honores de la universidad" — "My friend graduates with honours from university"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo gradúo en derecho el año pasado" — "Right now, I graduate in law last year"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros graduamos en ingeniería este mes" — "Tomorrow, we graduate in engineering this month"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos gradúan con las mejores notas" — "They graduate with the best marks"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo gradúo en medicina en junio — "I graduate in medicine in June"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo gradué en medicina en junio — "I graduated in medicine in June"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú gradúas con honores de la universidad — "You graduate with honours from university"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú graduabas con honores de la universidad — "You used to graduate with honours from university"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él gradúa en derecho el año pasado — "He graduates in law last year"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él graduará en derecho el año pasado — "He will graduate in law last year"
Examples: graduar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show graduar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo gradúo en medicina en junio — "I graduate in medicine in June"
- Tú gradúas con honores de la universidad — "You graduate with honours from university"
- Él gradúa en derecho el año pasado — "He graduates in law last year"
- Nosotros graduamos en ingeniería este mes — "We graduate in engineering this month"
- Vosotros graduáis con las mejores notas — "You graduate with the best marks"
- Ellos gradúan en medicina en junio — "They graduate in medicine in June"
- Yo gradúo con honores de la universidad — "I graduate with honours from university"
Common mistakes with graduar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with graduar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo gradúo medicina en junio.
✓ Correct: Yo gradúo en medicina en junio.
graduar takes en before this complement: Yo gradúo en medicina en junio. Dropping the preposition is a common learner error.
✗ *Tú gradúa con honores de la universidad.
✓ Correct: Tú gradúas con honores de la universidad.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes gradúas, él takes gradúa.
✗ *Cada día, yo gradué en derecho el año pasado
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo gradúo en derecho el año pasado
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros graduais en ingeniería este mes.
✓ Correct: Vosotros graduáis en ingeniería este mes.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: graduáis, not graduais.
Quiz: graduar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of graduar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of graduar for tú? A. gradúa B. graduamos C. gradúas D. gradúo
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ en medicina en junio — "I graduate in medicine in June" (present) A. gradúa B. graduamos C. gradúo D. gradúas
Complete the sentence: Él ______ con honores de la universidad — "He graduates with honours from university" (present) A. gradúo B. gradúas C. graduamos D. gradúa
Which is the correct present form of graduar for nosotros? A. gradúan B. graduamos C. gradúas D. gradúa
Which sentence uses graduar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo gradúas en derecho el año pasado B. Mi amigo graduaba en derecho el año pasado C. Mi amigo graduamos en derecho el año pasado D. Mi amigo gradúa en derecho el año pasado
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ en ingeniería este mes — "You graduate in engineering this month" (present) A. gradúas B. gradúa C. graduáis D. gradúo
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ con las mejores notas — "They graduate with the best marks" (present) A. gradúas B. gradúa C. gradúan D. gradúo
What is the gerund of graduar? A. graduando B. graduado C. gradúo D. gradué
Answer key
- gradúas — The tú form in the present is gradúas.
- gradúo — The present form for yo is gradúo.
- gradúa — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is gradúa.
- graduamos — The nosotros form in the present is graduamos.
- Mi amigo gradúa en derecho el año pasado — Mi amigo gradúa en derecho el año pasado is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- graduáis — The present form for vosotros/as is graduáis.
- gradúan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is gradúan.
- graduando — The gerund is graduando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle graduado.
Frequently asked questions
Is graduar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense graduar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of graduar?
The gerund is graduando and the past participle is graduado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I graduate" in the present tense?
Say gradúo. For example: Yo gradúo en medicina en junio — "I graduate in medicine in June".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of graduar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo gradúo en medicina en junio — "I graduate in medicine in June". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo gradué en medicina en junio — "Yesterday, I graduated in medicine in June". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of graduar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- graduar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.