Licenciar Conjugation in Spanish

Learning to conjugate licenciar — «to license» — opens up a whole set of sentences you will use every day. It is a regular -ar verb verb, and this page covers it completely: thirteen tenses, the gerund licenciando and the past participle licenciado, example sentences in every tense, the common mistakes and a quiz with an answer key. A good first sentence to learn is «Yo licencio todos los días» — I license every day. Once you can say that, the rest of the table falls into place person by person.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: licenciar
  • English: to license
  • Verb type: regular -ar verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: licenciando
  • Past participle: licenciado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + licenciado)

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for licenciar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for licenciar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem.

Gerund: licenciando · Past participle: licenciado

Present Indicative

Person Form
yo licencio
tú licencias
él/ella/Ud. licencia
nosotros/as licenciamos
vosotros/as licenciáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. licencian

The present is the tense you will use most with licenciar. It covers daily routines, permanent facts and actions in progress. Learn the yo form licencio first, then the tú and él forms, which are the ones that change the stem in stem-changing verbs.

Preterite

Person Form
yo licencié
tú licenciaste
él/ella/Ud. licenció
nosotros/as licenciamos
vosotros/as licenciasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. licenciaron

The preterite of licenciar reports what happened. «Ayer yo licencié por la tarde» places the action firmly in finished time. It is the tense of stories and reports, not of background description.

Imperfect

Person Form
yo licenciaba
tú licenciabas
él/ella/Ud. licenciaba
nosotros/as licenciábamos
vosotros/as licenciabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. licenciaban

The imperfect of licenciar paints the background of a past scene: repeated actions, states and descriptions. «Antes, yo licenciaba todos los días» is the pattern. Pair it with the preterite when one event interrupts another.

Future

Person Form
yo licenciaré
tú licenciarás
él/ella/Ud. licenciará
nosotros/as licenciaremos
vosotros/as licenciaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. licenciarán

The future of licenciar looks forward: what will happen tomorrow, next week or next year. «Mañana yo licenciaré sin falta» is the pattern. Remember that the future can also express probability about the present in Spanish.

Conditional

Person Form
yo licenciaría
tú licenciarías
él/ella/Ud. licenciaría
nosotros/as licenciaríamos
vosotros/as licenciaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. licenciarían

The conditional of licenciar is the tense of «would»: what you would do, what would happen, what you would like. «Si pudiera, yo licenciaría sin dudarlo» shows the pattern. It is built on the infinitive, just like the future.

Present Perfect

Person Form
yo he licenciado
tú has licenciado
él/ella/Ud. ha licenciado
nosotros/as hemos licenciado
vosotros/as habéis licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds. han licenciado

The present perfect of licenciar says «have done»: the action is finished but its result still matters now. «Hoy yo he licenciado dos veces» is the pattern. Learn the participle licenciado well — every perfect tense depends on it.

Pluperfect

Person Form
yo había licenciado
tú habías licenciado
él/ella/Ud. había licenciado
nosotros/as habíamos licenciado
vosotros/as habíais licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habían licenciado

The pluperfect of licenciar steps one event further back than the preterite. «Antes de salir, yo había licenciado» is the pattern: first this happened, then the story moved on. It is haber in the imperfect plus licenciado.

Future Perfect

Person Form
yo habré licenciado
tú habrás licenciado
él/ella/Ud. habrá licenciado
nosotros/as habremos licenciado
vosotros/as habréis licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrán licenciado

The future perfect of licenciar combines the future of haber with licenciado. «Para el viernes, yo habré licenciado ya» is the pattern. Use it when the completion matters more than the action itself.

Conditional Perfect

Person Form
yo habría licenciado
tú habrías licenciado
él/ella/Ud. habría licenciado
nosotros/as habríamos licenciado
vosotros/as habríais licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds. habrían licenciado

The conditional perfect of licenciar is the tense of «would have done». «Yo habría licenciado si hubiera podido» is the pattern. It is built from haber in the conditional plus licenciado.

Present Subjunctive

Person Form
yo licencie
tú licencies
él/ella/Ud. licencie
nosotros/as licenciemos
vosotros/as licenciéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. licencien

The present subjunctive of licenciar is the mood of what is wished, doubted or demanded rather than stated as fact. «Espero que tú licencies» is the pattern. If the trigger is in the past, switch to the imperfect subjunctive instead.

Imperfect Subjunctive (-ra forms)

Person Form
yo licenciara
tú licenciaras
él/ella/Ud. licenciara
nosotros/as licenciáramos
vosotros/as licenciarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. licenciaran

The imperfect subjunctive of licenciar handles the hypothetical past and the polite conditional. «Ojalá yo licenciara más a menudo» is the pattern. The -ra forms in the table are the standard ones; the -se forms use the same stem with -se endings.

Imperative — Affirmative

Person Form
tú licencia
él/ella/Ud. licencie
nosotros/as licenciemos
vosotros/as licenciad
ellos/ellas/Uds. licencien

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The affirmative imperative of licenciar is for orders and instructions. «¡licencia, por favor!» is the pattern. Remember there is no yo form in the imperative, and the nosotros form doubles as a suggestion: «¡licenciemos!» means «let's do it».

Imperative — Negative

Person Form
tú licencies
él/ella/Ud. licencie
nosotros/as licenciemos
vosotros/as licenciéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. licencien

There is no yo form in the imperative — you cannot command yourself.

The negative imperative of licenciar is built on the present subjunctive: «¡No licencies!». Learn it as a set with the subjunctive table above, and never follow no with the affirmative command form.

Example sentences

  1. Yo licencio todos los días. — I license every day.
  2. Ayer yo licencié por la tarde. — Yesterday I licensed in the afternoon.
  3. Antes, yo licenciaba todos los días. — In the past, I used to license every day.
  4. Mañana yo licenciaré sin falta. — Tomorrow I will license without fail.
  5. Si tuviera más tiempo, yo licenciaría ahora mismo. — If I had more time, I would license right now.
  6. Hoy yo he licenciado dos veces. — Today I have licensed twice.
  7. Espero que tú licencies pronto. — I hope You license soon.
  8. Si yo licenciara, todo sería distinto. — If I licensed, everything would be different.
  9. Ahora mismo yo estoy licenciando. — Right now I am licensing.
  10. ¡licencia, por favor! — License, please!

Common mistakes

1. Using the imperfect for a finished event

Wrong: Ayer yo licenciaba.

Right: Ayer yo licencié.

Yesterday's finished action needs the preterite, licencié. The imperfect licenciaba describes what used to happen or what was going on, not a single completed event.

2. Using the indicative after a subjunctive trigger

Wrong: Espero que tú licencias.

Right: Espero que tú licencies.

After espero que, Spanish requires the subjunctive: licencies, not the indicative licencias. Wishes, hopes and doubts all trigger this change.

3. Using the affirmative imperative after no

Wrong: No licencia.

Right: No licencies.

Negative commands use the subjunctive-based forms: no licencies. The affirmative licencia can never follow no.

4. Using the infinitive instead of a conjugated form

Wrong: Yo licenciar todos los días.

Right: Yo licencio todos los días.

The infinitive licenciar names the action; it never works as the main verb of a sentence. Conjugate it for the person: yo licencio.

5. Confusing the gerund with the past participle

Wrong: He licenciando.

Right: He licenciado.

The perfect tenses use haber plus the past participle: he licenciado. The gerund licenciando goes with estar for actions in progress («Estoy licenciando»), never with haber.

Quiz

Test yourself on the forms above. Choose the correct answer, then check the key below.

1. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of licenciar in the present indicative?

- (a) licencias
- (b) licencio
- (c) licencia
- (d) licenciamos

2. What is the nosotros/as form of licenciar in the preterite?

- (a) licenciamos
- (b) licenciaste
- (c) licencié
- (d) licenció

3. What is the vosotros/as form of licenciar in the imperfect?

- (a) licenciabais
- (b) licenciaba
- (c) licenciabas
- (d) licenciaba

4. What is the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of licenciar in the future?

- (a) licenciarás
- (b) licenciarán
- (c) licenciaré
- (d) licenciará

5. What is the yo form of licenciar in the conditional?

- (a) licenciaríamos
- (b) licenciaría
- (c) licenciaría
- (d) licenciarías

6. What is the tú form of licenciar in the present perfect?

- (a) he licenciado
- (b) hemos licenciado
- (c) has licenciado
- (d) ha licenciado

7. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of licenciar in the present subjunctive?

- (a) licencie
- (b) licencies
- (c) licenciemos
- (d) licencie

8. What is the nosotros/as form of licenciar in the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms)?

- (a) licenciáramos
- (b) licenciaras
- (c) licenciara
- (d) licenciara

9. What is the gerund of licenciar?

- (a) licenciar
- (b) licenciado
- (c) licenciando
- (d) licencio

10. What is the past participle of licenciar?

- (a) licenciar
- (b) licencié
- (c) licenciando
- (d) licenciado

Answer key

1. (c) — In the present indicative, the él/ella/Ud. form of licenciar is licencia. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 2. (a) — In the preterite, the nosotros/as form of licenciar is licenciamos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 3. (a) — In the imperfect, the vosotros/as form of licenciar is licenciabais. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 4. (b) — In the future, the ellos/ellas/Uds. form of licenciar is licenciarán. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 5. (b) — In the conditional, the yo form of licenciar is licenciaría. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 6. (c) — In the present perfect, the tú form of licenciar is has licenciado. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 7. (a) — In the present subjunctive, the él/ella/Ud. form of licenciar is licencie. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 8. (a) — In the imperfect subjunctive (-ra forms), the nosotros/as form of licenciar is licenciáramos. The other options are the same tense but different persons. 9. (c) — The gerund of licenciar is licenciando. It is used with estar for the progressive: «Estoy licenciando». 10. (d) — The past participle of licenciar is licenciado. It follows haber in all the perfect tenses: «he licenciado».

Frequently asked questions

Is licenciar regular or irregular?

Yes — licenciar is a regular -ar verb. Learn the endings once and they work in every tense, with the stem licenci unchanged throughout.

What are the gerund and past participle of licenciar?

The gerund is licenciando and the past participle is licenciado. Use the gerund with estar for actions in progress («Estoy licenciando») and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses («he licenciado»).

How do I say «I license» in Spanish?

Say «Yo licencio todos los días». That is the yo form of the present tense, the form you need for talking about yourself right now.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of licenciar?

Use the preterite (licencié) for a single finished event and the imperfect (licenciaba) for habits and background. «Ayer yo licencié» reports something that happened and ended; «Antes, yo licenciaba» describes what used to happen.

When do I use the subjunctive with licenciar?

Use the subjunctive after wishes, doubts, emotions and impersonal expressions — for example «Espero que tú licencies». The trigger sits in the main clause; once it is there, the subjunctive form is required, not a stylistic choice.

How do I use licenciar in the present perfect?

Put haber in the present before the past participle: «Hoy yo he licenciado». The participle licenciado never changes for person — only haber changes — so once you know the participle, the whole perfect tense follows.

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