Identificar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of identificar — "to identify" 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 identificar 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. Identificar means to identify, and it covers identifying the author of a message, a problem in an engine, a person in a photo and the cause of an error. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él identifica al autor del mensaje. — "He/she identifies the author of the message." 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: identificar

Every person of identificar in the present tense. The gerund is identificando and the past participle is identificado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo identifico
tú identificas
él/ella/Ud. identifica
nosotros/as identificamos
vosotros/as identificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. identifican

How the present indicative of identificar is formed

The present indicative of identificar is built from the stem identific- 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 identifico
tú -as identificas
él/ella/Ud. -a identifica
nosotros/as -amos identificamos
vosotros/as -áis identificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an identifican

identificar 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 identifico in particular.

The gerund of identificar is identificando and the past participle is identificado. 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 identificar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and identificar 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 identificar, this use looks like this: "Yo identifico al autor del mensaje." — "I identify the author of the message." 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 identificar, this use looks like this: "Él identifica el problema en el motor." — "He/she identifies the problem in the engine." 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 identificar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros identificamos a la persona de la foto." — "We identify the person in the photo." 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 identificar, this use looks like this: "Ellos identifican la causa del error." — "They identify the cause of the error." 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 identificar, this use looks like this: "Tú identificas al autor del mensaje." — "You identify the author of the message." 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 identificar. 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 identifico al autor del mensaje." — "I identify the author of the message."
  • Preterite: "Yo identifiqué al autor del mensaje." — "I identified the author of the message." 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 identifica el problema en el motor." — "He/she identifies the problem in the engine."
  • Preterite: "Él identificó el problema en el motor." — "He/she identified the problem in the engine." 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 identificamos a la persona de la foto." — "We identify the person in the photo."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros identificamos a la persona de la foto." — "We identified the person in the photo." 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 identificar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo identifico al autor del mensaje. — I identify the author of the message.
  2. Tú identificas el problema en el motor. — You identify the problem in the engine.
  3. Él identifica a la persona de la foto. — He/she identifies the person in the photo.
  4. Nosotros identificamos la causa del error. — We identify the cause of the error.
  5. Vosotros identificáis al autor del mensaje. — You all identify the author of the message.
  6. Ellos identifican el problema en el motor. — They identify the problem in the engine.
  7. Yo identifico a la persona de la foto. — I identify the person in the photo.
  8. Él identifica la causa del error. — He/she identifies the cause of the error.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros identificais el problema en el motor. — Right: Vosotros identificáis el problema en el motor. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: identificáis, not identificais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo identifico a la persona de la foto. — Right: Ayer, yo identifiqué a la persona de la foto. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (identifiqué), not the present (identifico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo identifica al autor del mensaje. — Right: Yo identifico al autor del mensaje. — The person matters: identifica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is identifico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy identificado el problema en el motor. — Right: Yo he identificado el problema en el motor. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he identificado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al autor del mensaje. (present tense) A. identifico B. identificas C. identifica D. identificamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el problema en el motor. (present tense) A. identificas B. identifico C. identifica D. identificamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a la persona de la foto. (present tense) A. identifica B. identifico C. identificas D. identificamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la causa del error. (present tense) A. identificamos B. identifico C. identificas D. identifica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ al autor del mensaje. (present tense) A. identificáis B. identifico C. identificas D. identifica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el problema en el motor. (present tense) A. identifican B. identifico C. identificas D. identifica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a la persona de la foto. (present tense) A. identifico B. identificas C. identifica D. identificamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la causa del error. (present tense) A. identifica B. identifico C. identificas D. identificamos

Answer key

  1. identifico — The yo present form of identificar is identifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. identificas — The tu present form of identificar is identificas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. identifica — The el present form of identificar is identifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. identificamos — The nosotros present form of identificar is identificamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. identificáis — The vosotros present form of identificar is identificáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. identifican — The ellos present form of identificar is identifican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. identifico — The yo present form of identificar is identifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. identifica — The el present form of identificar is identifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of identificar?

Use the present tense of identificar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo identifico al autor del mensaje. — "I identify the author of the message." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of identificar formed?

Take the stem identific- 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 identificar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo identifico el problema en el motor. with Yo identifiqué el problema en el motor. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of identificar?

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

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