Licuar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of licuar — "to liquefy, to blend" 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 licuar 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. Licuar means to liquefy or blend something in a blender: licuar las frutas para el zumo. It is the verb for making juice and smoothies, common in Latin America. To see it in a real sentence: Yo licúo las frutas para el zumo — "I liquefy the fruit for the juice".
Present tense conjugation table: licuar
Every person of licuar in the present tense. The gerund is licuando and the past participle is licuado.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | licúo |
| tú | licúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | licúa |
| nosotros/as | licuamos |
| vosotros/as | licuáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | licúan |
How the present of licuar is formed
The present of licuar is built from the stem licu- 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 | licúo |
| tú | -as | licúas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | licúa |
| nosotros/as | -amos | licuamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | licuáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | licúan |
The gerund of licuar is licuando and the past participle is licuado. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the present tense of licuar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and licuar 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 describes things that happen regularly, as a habit or routine.
"Cada día, yo licúo las frutas para el zumo" — "Every day, I liquefy the fruit for the juice"
General truths
The present states facts that are always true, not just true today.
"Mi amigo licúa las verduras en la batidora" — "My friend liquefies the vegetables in the blender"
What is happening now
The present describes an action in progress right now.
"Ahora, yo licúo el hielo con la fruta" — "Right now, I liquefy the ice with the fruit"
Near-future plans
Spanish often uses the present for a plan that is already fixed.
"Mañana, nosotros licuamos los ingredientes del batido" — "Tomorrow, we liquefy the smoothie ingredients"
Timetables and scheduled events
The present is the tense for timetables, programmes and things that happen on a schedule.
"Ellos licúan la sopa hasta que quede fina" — "They liquefy the soup until smooth"
The present tense vs the closest tenses
Present — habit or general fact vs Preterite — one finished occasion
The present describes a habit, a routine or a general fact — something that happens again and again or that is true in general. The preterite reports one finished occasion in the past. Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once, on a specific day.
- Present — habit or general fact: {'pre_es': 'Cada día, ', 'pre_en': 'Every day, '}yo licúo las frutas para el zumo — "I liquefy the fruit for the juice"
- Preterite — one finished occasion: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo licué las frutas para el zumo — "I liquefied the fruit for the juice"
Present — now vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The present talks about now. The imperfect talks about the past as a background — a repeated habit, an ongoing situation, something that used to happen. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it is happening now or always, use the present.
- Present — now: {}tú licúas las verduras en la batidora — "You liquefy the vegetables in the blender"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {}tú licuabas las verduras en la batidora — "You used to liquefy the vegetables in the blender"
Present — now or a fixed plan vs Future — what will happen
The present describes what happens now, what you do regularly, or a plan that is already fixed. The future describes what will happen later — a promise, a prediction, a plan that is not yet under way. Spanish often uses the present for near-future plans, but the future is the form for a clear statement about tomorrow.
- Present — now or a fixed plan: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él licúa el hielo con la fruta — "He liquefies the ice with the fruit"
- Future — what will happen: {'subj_es': 'Mi amigo', 'subj_en': 'My friend'}él licuará el hielo con la fruta — "He will liquefy the ice with the fruit"
Examples: licuar in the present tense
Seven sentences that show licuar in the present tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo licúo las frutas para el zumo — "I liquefy the fruit for the juice"
- Tú licúas las verduras en la batidora — "You liquefy the vegetables in the blender"
- Él licúa el hielo con la fruta — "He liquefies the ice with the fruit"
- Nosotros licuamos los ingredientes del batido — "We liquefy the smoothie ingredients"
- Vosotros licuáis la sopa hasta que quede fina — "You liquefy the soup until smooth"
- Ellos licúan las frutas para el zumo — "They liquefy the fruit for the juice"
- Yo licúo las verduras en la batidora — "I liquefy the vegetables in the blender"
Common mistakes with licuar in the present tense
These are the errors learners actually make with licuar in the present tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Yo licúo en las frutas para el zumo.
✓ Correct: Yo licúo las frutas para el zumo.
licuar takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo licúo las frutas para el zumo.
✗ *Tú licúa las verduras en la batidora.
✓ Correct: Tú licúas las verduras en la batidora.
The tú form and the él form are different: tú takes licúas, él takes licúa.
✗ *Cada día, yo licué el hielo con la fruta
✓ Correct: Cada día, yo licúo el hielo con la fruta
Cada día describes a habit, so it needs the present, not the preterite.
✗ *Vosotros licuais los ingredientes del batido.
✓ Correct: Vosotros licuáis los ingredientes del batido.
The vosotros present form carries a written accent: licuáis, not licuais.
Quiz: licuar in the present tense
Eight questions on the present tense of licuar. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct present form of licuar for tú? A. licúas B. licúo C. licúa D. licuamos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ las frutas para el zumo — "I liquefy the fruit for the juice" (present) A. licúas B. licúa C. licuamos D. licúo
Complete the sentence: Él ______ las verduras en la batidora — "He liquefies the vegetables in the blender" (present) A. licuamos B. licúa C. licúo D. licúas
Which is the correct present form of licuar for nosotros? A. licúas B. licúa C. licúan D. licuamos
Which sentence uses licuar correctly in the present? A. Mi amigo licuamos el hielo con la fruta B. Mi amigo licúa el hielo con la fruta C. Mi amigo licúas el hielo con la fruta D. Mi amigo licuaba el hielo con la fruta
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ los ingredientes del batido — "You liquefy the smoothie ingredients" (present) A. licuáis B. licúo C. licúas D. licúa
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ la sopa hasta que quede fina — "They liquefy the soup until smooth" (present) A. licúo B. licúas C. licúa D. licúan
What is the gerund of licuar? A. licúo B. licué C. licuando D. licuado
Answer key
- licúas — The tú form in the present is licúas.
- licúo — The present form for yo is licúo.
- licúa — The present form for él/ella/Ud. is licúa.
- licuamos — The nosotros form in the present is licuamos.
- Mi amigo licúa el hielo con la fruta — Mi amigo licúa el hielo con la fruta is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the present.
- licuáis — The present form for vosotros/as is licuáis.
- licúan — The present form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is licúan.
- licuando — The gerund is licuando. It is the form you use with estar for the progressive, and it is not the past participle licuado.
Frequently asked questions
Is licuar regular in the present tense?
Yes — in the present tense licuar follows the regular endings for -ar verbs, as the table above shows.
What is the gerund and the past participle of licuar?
The gerund is licuando and the past participle is licuado. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I liquefy" in the present tense?
Say licúo. For example: Yo licúo las frutas para el zumo — "I liquefy the fruit for the juice".
What is the difference between the present and the preterite of licuar?
The present describes a habit or what happens now: Yo licúo las frutas para el zumo — "I liquefy the fruit for the juice". The preterite reports one finished occasion: Ayer, yo licué las frutas para el zumo — "Yesterday, I liquefied the fruit for the juice". Use the present when the action repeats or is still true, and the preterite when you are telling what happened once.
Related links
- Full conjugation of licuar — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- licuar examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Present tense guide — how the present tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.