Intensificar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of intensificar — "to intensify" 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 intensificar 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. Intensificar means to intensify, and it covers intensifying border checks, training before a match, a search and efforts to finish on time. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él intensifica los controles en la frontera. — "He/she intensifies the checks at the border." 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: intensificar

Every person of intensificar in the present tense. The gerund is intensificando and the past participle is intensificado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo intensifico
tú intensificas
él/ella/Ud. intensifica
nosotros/as intensificamos
vosotros/as intensificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. intensifican

How the present indicative of intensificar is formed

The present indicative of intensificar is built from the stem intensific- 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 intensifico
tú -as intensificas
él/ella/Ud. -a intensifica
nosotros/as -amos intensificamos
vosotros/as -áis intensificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an intensifican

intensificar 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 intensifico in particular.

The gerund of intensificar is intensificando and the past participle is intensificado. 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 intensificar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and intensificar 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 intensificar, this use looks like this: "Yo intensifico los controles en la frontera." — "I intensify the checks at the border." 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 intensificar, this use looks like this: "Él intensifica el entrenamiento antes del partido." — "He/she intensifies the training before the match." 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 intensificar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros intensificamos la búsqueda del niño perdido." — "We intensify the search for the lost child." 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 intensificar, this use looks like this: "Ellos intensifican los esfuerzos para terminar a tiempo." — "They intensify the efforts to finish on time." 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 intensificar, this use looks like this: "Tú intensificas los controles en la frontera." — "You intensify the checks at the border." 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 intensificar. 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 intensifico los controles en la frontera." — "I intensify the checks at the border."
  • Preterite: "Yo intensifiqué los controles en la frontera." — "I intensified the checks at the border." 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 intensifica el entrenamiento antes del partido." — "He/she intensifies the training before the match."
  • Preterite: "Él intensificó el entrenamiento antes del partido." — "He/she intensified the training before the match." 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 intensificamos la búsqueda del niño perdido." — "We intensify the search for the lost child."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros intensificamos la búsqueda del niño perdido." — "We intensified the search for the lost child." 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 intensificar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo intensifico los controles en la frontera. — I intensify the checks at the border.
  2. Tú intensificas el entrenamiento antes del partido. — You intensify the training before the match.
  3. Él intensifica la búsqueda del niño perdido. — He/she intensifies the search for the lost child.
  4. Nosotros intensificamos los esfuerzos para terminar a tiempo. — We intensify the efforts to finish on time.
  5. Vosotros intensificáis los controles en la frontera. — You all intensify the checks at the border.
  6. Ellos intensifican el entrenamiento antes del partido. — They intensify the training before the match.
  7. Yo intensifico la búsqueda del niño perdido. — I intensify the search for the lost child.
  8. Él intensifica los esfuerzos para terminar a tiempo. — He/she intensifies the efforts to finish on time.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros intensificais el entrenamiento antes del partido. — Right: Vosotros intensificáis el entrenamiento antes del partido. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: intensificáis, not intensificais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo intensifico la búsqueda del niño perdido. — Right: Ayer, yo intensifiqué la búsqueda del niño perdido. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (intensifiqué), not the present (intensifico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo intensifica los controles en la frontera. — Right: Yo intensifico los controles en la frontera. — The person matters: intensifica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is intensifico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy intensificado el entrenamiento antes del partido. — Right: Yo he intensificado el entrenamiento antes del partido. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he intensificado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ los controles en la frontera. (present tense) A. intensifico B. intensificas C. intensifica D. intensificamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el entrenamiento antes del partido. (present tense) A. intensificas B. intensifico C. intensifica D. intensificamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la búsqueda del niño perdido. (present tense) A. intensifica B. intensifico C. intensificas D. intensificamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ los esfuerzos para terminar a tiempo. (present tense) A. intensificamos B. intensifico C. intensificas D. intensifica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ los controles en la frontera. (present tense) A. intensificáis B. intensifico C. intensificas D. intensifica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el entrenamiento antes del partido. (present tense) A. intensifican B. intensifico C. intensificas D. intensifica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la búsqueda del niño perdido. (present tense) A. intensifico B. intensificas C. intensifica D. intensificamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ los esfuerzos para terminar a tiempo. (present tense) A. intensifica B. intensifico C. intensificas D. intensificamos

Answer key

  1. intensifico — The yo present form of intensificar is intensifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. intensificas — The tu present form of intensificar is intensificas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. intensifica — The el present form of intensificar is intensifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. intensificamos — The nosotros present form of intensificar is intensificamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. intensificáis — The vosotros present form of intensificar is intensificáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. intensifican — The ellos present form of intensificar is intensifican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. intensifico — The yo present form of intensificar is intensifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. intensifica — The el present form of intensificar is intensifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of intensificar?

Use the present tense of intensificar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo intensifico los controles en la frontera. — "I intensify the checks at the border." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of intensificar formed?

Take the stem intensific- 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 intensificar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo intensifico el entrenamiento antes del partido. with Yo intensifiqué el entrenamiento antes del partido. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of intensificar?

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

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