Indicar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of indicar — "to indicate" 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 indicar 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. Indicar means to indicate, and it is used for indicating the way with a finger, a clock indicating the time, a map showing the way and a patient indicating symptoms to a doctor. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él indica el camino con el dedo. — "He/she indicates the way with my finger." 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: indicar

Every person of indicar in the present tense. The gerund is indicando and the past participle is indicado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo indico
tú indicas
él/ella/Ud. indica
nosotros/as indicamos
vosotros/as indicáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. indican

How the present indicative of indicar is formed

The present indicative of indicar is built from the stem indic- 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 indico
tú -as indicas
él/ella/Ud. -a indica
nosotros/as -amos indicamos
vosotros/as -áis indicáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an indican

indicar 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 indico in particular.

The gerund of indicar is indicando and the past participle is indicado. 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 indicar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and indicar 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 indicar, this use looks like this: "Yo indico el camino con el dedo." — "I indicate the way with my finger." 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 indicar, this use looks like this: "Él indica la hora en el reloj." — "He/she indicates the time on the clock." 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 indicar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros indicamos el camino a seguir en el mapa." — "We indicate the way to follow on the map." 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 indicar, this use looks like this: "Ellos indican los síntomas al médico." — "They indicate the symptoms to the doctor." 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 indicar, this use looks like this: "Tú indicas el camino con el dedo." — "You indicate the way with my finger." 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 indicar. 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 indico el camino con el dedo." — "I indicate the way with my finger."
  • Preterite: "Yo indiqué el camino con el dedo." — "I indicated the way with my finger." 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 indica la hora en el reloj." — "He/she indicates the time on the clock."
  • Preterite: "Él indicó la hora en el reloj." — "He/she indicated the time on the clock." 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 indicamos el camino a seguir en el mapa." — "We indicate the way to follow on the map."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros indicamos el camino a seguir en el mapa." — "We indicated the way to follow on the map." 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 indicar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo indico el camino con el dedo. — I indicate the way with my finger.
  2. Tú indicas la hora en el reloj. — You indicate the time on the clock.
  3. Él indica el camino a seguir en el mapa. — He/she indicates the way to follow on the map.
  4. Nosotros indicamos los síntomas al médico. — We indicate the symptoms to the doctor.
  5. Vosotros indicáis el camino con el dedo. — You all indicate the way with my finger.
  6. Ellos indican la hora en el reloj. — They indicate the time on the clock.
  7. Yo indico el camino a seguir en el mapa. — I indicate the way to follow on the map.
  8. Él indica los síntomas al médico. — He/she indicates the symptoms to the doctor.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros indicais la hora en el reloj. — Right: Vosotros indicáis la hora en el reloj. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: indicáis, not indicais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo indico el camino a seguir en el mapa. — Right: Ayer, yo indiqué el camino a seguir en el mapa. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (indiqué), not the present (indico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo indica el camino con el dedo. — Right: Yo indico el camino con el dedo. — The person matters: indica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is indico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy indicado la hora en el reloj. — Right: Yo he indicado la hora en el reloj. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he indicado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el camino con el dedo. (present tense) A. indico B. indicas C. indica D. indicamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la hora en el reloj. (present tense) A. indicas B. indico C. indica D. indicamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el camino a seguir en el mapa. (present tense) A. indica B. indico C. indicas D. indicamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ los síntomas al médico. (present tense) A. indicamos B. indico C. indicas D. indica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ el camino con el dedo. (present tense) A. indicáis B. indico C. indicas D. indica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la hora en el reloj. (present tense) A. indican B. indico C. indicas D. indica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el camino a seguir en el mapa. (present tense) A. indico B. indicas C. indica D. indicamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ los síntomas al médico. (present tense) A. indica B. indico C. indicas D. indicamos

Answer key

  1. indico — The yo present form of indicar is indico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. indicas — The tu present form of indicar is indicas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. indica — The el present form of indicar is indica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. indicamos — The nosotros present form of indicar is indicamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. indicáis — The vosotros present form of indicar is indicáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. indican — The ellos present form of indicar is indican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. indico — The yo present form of indicar is indico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. indica — The el present form of indicar is indica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of indicar?

Use the present tense of indicar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo indico el camino con el dedo. — "I indicate the way with my finger." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of indicar formed?

Take the stem indic- 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 indicar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo indico la hora en el reloj. with Yo indiqué la hora en el reloj. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of indicar?

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

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