Licenciarse Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb licenciarse means to graduate — it also means to get a degree, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Licenciarse is a regular -ar, reflexive verb, so the tables below show you exactly how it behaves in every tense. Licenciarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, me licencio en junio means "In june, I graduate". Without the pronoun, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense. On this page you will find the full conjugation of licenciarse in all thirteen tenses, notes on when to use each one, example sentences, the mistakes learners make most often, a ten-question quiz and answers to the questions students ask about this verb. For example, in the present tense you say En junio, yo me licencio — "In june, I graduate" — and in the preterite you say Yo me licencié en derecho — "I graduated in law". Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.

Quick facts

  • Infinitive: licenciarse
  • English: to graduate, to get a degree
  • Verb type: regular -ar, reflexive verb
  • Ending: -ar
  • Gerund: licenciando
  • Past participle: licenciado
  • Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + licenciado)
  • Reflexive pronouns: me, te, se, nos, os, se — one before every conjugated form, matching the person.

Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for licenciarse, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Licenciarse is reflexive: me licencio, te licencias. Without the pronoun, licenciar means something else — it acts on someone or something else, not on yourself.

Full conjugation tables

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for licenciarse. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.

Gerund: licenciando · Past participle: licenciado

Present indicative

Person Pronoun Form
yo me licencio
tú te licencias
él/ella/Ud. se licencia
nosotros/as nos licenciamos
vosotros/as os licenciáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licencian

Preterite

Person Pronoun Form
yo me licencié
tú te licenciaste
él/ella/Ud. se licenció
nosotros/as nos licenciamos
vosotros/as os licenciasteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licenciaron

Imperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me licenciaba
tú te licenciabas
él/ella/Ud. se licenciaba
nosotros/as nos licenciábamos
vosotros/as os licenciabais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licenciaban

Future

Person Pronoun Form
yo me licenciaré
tú te licenciarás
él/ella/Ud. se licenciará
nosotros/as nos licenciaremos
vosotros/as os licenciaréis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licenciarán

Conditional

Person Pronoun Form
yo me licenciaría
tú te licenciarías
él/ella/Ud. se licenciaría
nosotros/as nos licenciaríamos
vosotros/as os licenciaríais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licenciarían

Present perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me he licenciado
tú te has licenciado
él/ella/Ud. se ha licenciado
nosotros/as nos hemos licenciado
vosotros/as os habéis licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se han licenciado

Pluperfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me había licenciado
tú te habías licenciado
él/ella/Ud. se había licenciado
nosotros/as nos habíamos licenciado
vosotros/as os habíais licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habían licenciado

Future perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habré licenciado
tú te habrás licenciado
él/ella/Ud. se habrá licenciado
nosotros/as nos habremos licenciado
vosotros/as os habréis licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrán licenciado

Conditional perfect

Person Pronoun Form
yo me habría licenciado
tú te habrías licenciado
él/ella/Ud. se habría licenciado
nosotros/as nos habríamos licenciado
vosotros/as os habríais licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds. se habrían licenciado

Present subjunctive

Person Pronoun Form
yo me licencie
tú te licencies
él/ella/Ud. se licencie
nosotros/as nos licenciemos
vosotros/as os licenciéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licencien

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Person Pronoun Form
yo me licenciara
tú te licenciaras
él/ella/Ud. se licenciara
nosotros/as nos licenciáramos
vosotros/as os licenciarais
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licenciaran

Imperative (affirmative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te licencia
él/ella/Ud. se licencie
nosotros/as nos licenciemos
vosotros/as os licenciad
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licencien

Imperative (negative)

Person Pronoun Form
tú te licencies
él/ella/Ud. se licencie
nosotros/as nos licenciemos
vosotros/as os licenciéis
ellos/ellas/Uds. se licencien

Gerund and past participle

Form Spanish Use
Gerund licenciando with estar for the progressive: estoy licenciando (or me estoy licenciando for this reflexive verb)
Past participle licenciado with haber for the perfect tenses: he licenciado

How to use each tense

Present indicative

Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. It is the tense you will use most often in everyday conversation, for habits with words like todos los días and for statements that are true in general. For licenciarse, the present indicative looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me licencio en derecho — "I graduate in law". Learn the present indicative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Preterite

Use the preterite for finished actions in the past — things that started and ended, often with time words like ayer, anoche or la semana pasada. The preterite moves a story forward, one completed event at a time. For licenciarse, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me licencié con buenas notas — "I graduated with good marks". Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect

Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with words like antes, de niño or mientras. It describes how things used to be, not one finished event. For licenciarse, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: En junio, yo me licenciaba — "In june, I used to graduate". Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future

Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. It talks about what will happen, not what is happening now. For licenciarse, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me licenciaré en derecho — "I will graduate in law". Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional

Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often in si clauses. It softens a request and describes imagined situations. For licenciarse, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me licenciaría con buenas notas — "I would graduate with good marks". Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present perfect

Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. It connects the past with the present moment. For licenciarse, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: En junio, yo me he licenciado — "In june, I have graduated". Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Pluperfect

Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. It is the past of the past, and it usually appears with antes de or ya. For licenciarse, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me había licenciado en derecho — "I had graduated in law". Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Future perfect

Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time, often with para mañana or para el viernes. For licenciarse, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Yo me habré licenciado con buenas notas — "I will have graduated with good marks". Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Conditional perfect

Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. It looks back at a past that never happened. For licenciarse, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: En junio, yo me habría licenciado — "In june, I would have graduated". Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Present subjunctive

Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. The subjunctive does not state a fact; it states an attitude towards the action. For licenciarse, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él se licencie en derecho — "I hope he graduates in law". Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)

Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For licenciarse, the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) looks like this in a real sentence: Si yo me licenciara con buenas notas, todo cambiaría — "If I graduated with good marks, everything would change". Learn the imperfect subjunctive (-ra) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (affirmative)

Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. It tells someone to do something, and it has no yo form. For licenciarse, the imperative (affirmative) looks like this in a real sentence: Que se licencie en junio — "Let him graduate in June". Learn the imperative (affirmative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Imperative (negative)

Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. It uses the subjunctive forms, so it looks different from the affirmative commands. For licenciarse, the imperative (negative) looks like this in a real sentence: No te licencies en derecho — "Don't graduate in law". Learn the imperative (negative) forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.

Example sentences

Ten natural sentences with licenciarse, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.

  1. Yo me licencio con buenas notas — "I graduate with good marks"
  2. En junio, él se licencia — "In june, he graduates"
  3. Yo me licencié en derecho — "I graduated in law"
  4. Yo me licenciaba con buenas notas — "I used to graduate with good marks"
  5. En junio, tú te licenciarás — "In june, you will graduate"
  6. Yo me licenciaría en derecho — "I would graduate in law"
  7. Él se ha licenciado con buenas notas — "He has graduated with good marks"
  8. Espero que él se licencie en junio — "I hope he graduates in June"
  9. Yo me había licenciado en derecho — "I had graduated in law"
  10. Ellos se licenciaban con buenas notas — "They used to graduate with good marks"

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo licencio en junio — Right: En junio, yo me licencio — Licenciarse is reflexive, so the pronoun me is required: without it the verb means something else, or nothing at all.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo me licencio — Right: Ayer, yo me licencié — The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to licencié.
  3. Wrong: De niño, yo me licencié todos los días. — Right: Todos los días, yo me licenciaba — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (licenciaba), not the preterite. The preterite (licencié) is for one finished action.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy licenciado en derecho. — Right: Yo me he licenciado en derecho. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he licenciado, has licenciado, ha licenciado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: Espero que él licencia en junio. — Right: Espero que él se licencie en junio. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: licencie. The indicative licencia is wrong here.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on licenciarse. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ en derecho. (present tense) A. licenciáis B. licencio C. licenciáramos D. habíamos licenciado

  2. Complete the sentence: Él se ___ en derecho. (preterite) A. licenció B. licenciarais C. había licenciado D. licenciad

  3. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ en derecho. (imperfect) A. licenciaría B. licenciará C. licenciábamos D. licenciarían

  4. Complete the sentence: Tú te ___ en derecho. (future) A. licencie B. licenciarás C. licenciarais D. habías licenciado

  5. Complete the sentence: Yo me ___ en derecho. (conditional) A. licenciaríamos B. licenciaría C. licencie D. habréis licenciado

  6. Complete the sentence: Espero que él se ___ en derecho. (present subjunctive) A. licencie B. licenciéis C. licenciara D. licenciasteis

  7. Complete the sentence: Si yo me ___ en derecho, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. licenciarías B. licencia C. licenciara D. habrá licenciado

  8. Complete the sentence: Nosotros nos ___ en derecho. (present perfect) A. he licenciado B. hemos licenciado C. licenciabas D. licenciaste

  9. Complete the command: No te ___ en derecho. (negative imperative, tú) A. licencies B. licenciemos C. licencien D. licencie

  10. Which is the gerund of licenciarse, used with estar for the progressive? A. licenciaré B. licenciado C. licenciando D. licenciaba

Answer key

  1. me licencio — The yo present tense of licenciarse is me licencio.
  2. se licenció — The él/ella/Ud. preterite of licenciarse is se licenció.
  3. nos licenciábamos — The nosotros/as imperfect of licenciarse is nos licenciábamos.
  4. te licenciarás — The tú future of licenciarse is te licenciarás.
  5. me licenciaría — The yo conditional of licenciarse is me licenciaría.
  6. se licencie — The él/ella/Ud. present subjunctive of licenciarse is se licencie.
  7. me licenciara — The yo imperfect subjunctive, -ra form of licenciarse is me licenciara.
  8. nos hemos licenciado — The nosotros/as present perfect of licenciarse is nos hemos licenciado.
  9. te licencies — The negative tú imperative uses the present subjunctive form with no before it: te licencies.
  10. licenciando — The gerund of licenciarse is licenciando: estoy licenciando. The participle licenciado is used with haber instead.

Frequently asked questions

What does licenciarse mean in English?

Licenciarse means to graduate, to get a degree. It is used in everyday situations such as En junio, yo me licencio. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.

Is licenciarse a reflexive verb?

Yes. Licenciarse is reflexive, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun that matches the person: me, te, se, nos, os or se. For example, En junio, yo me licencio and Él se licencia en derecho. If you leave the pronoun out, the verb changes meaning or stops making sense.

What is the gerund and the past participle of licenciarse?

The gerund is licenciando, used with estar for the progressive: estoy licenciando. The past participle is licenciado, used with haber in the perfect tenses: he licenciado.

How do I say “I graduate” in the past?

It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo me licencié en derecho. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo me licenciaba con buenas notas. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: En junio, yo me he licenciado.

How do I practise licenciarse?

Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the licenciarse examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.

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