Pacificar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of pacificar — "to pacify" 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 pacificar 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. Pacificar means to pacify, and it covers pacifying a region after a conflict, calming students with a game and pacifying a country after a war. It is a formal synonym of calmar, and it is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. To see it in a real sentence: Él pacifica la región después del conflicto. — "He/she pacifies the region after the conflict." 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: pacificar

Every person of pacificar in the present tense. The gerund is pacificando and the past participle is pacificado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo pacifico
tú pacificas
él/ella/Ud. pacifica
nosotros/as pacificamos
vosotros/as pacificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. pacifican

How the present indicative of pacificar is formed

The present indicative of pacificar is built from the stem pacific- 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 pacifico
tú -as pacificas
él/ella/Ud. -a pacifica
nosotros/as -amos pacificamos
vosotros/as -áis pacificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an pacifican

pacificar 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 pacifico in particular.

The gerund of pacificar is pacificando and the past participle is pacificado. 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 pacificar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and pacificar 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 pacificar, this use looks like this: "Yo pacifico la región después del conflicto." — "I pacify the region after the conflict." 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 pacificar, this use looks like this: "Él pacifica a los alumnos con un juego." — "He/she pacifies the students with a game." 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 pacificar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros pacificamos el ambiente en la reunión." — "We pacify the atmosphere in the meeting." 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 pacificar, this use looks like this: "Ellos pacifican el país tras la guerra." — "They pacify the country after the war." 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 pacificar, this use looks like this: "Tú pacificas la región después del conflicto." — "You pacify the region after the conflict." 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 pacificar. 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 pacifico la región después del conflicto." — "I pacify the region after the conflict."
  • Preterite: "Yo pacifiqué la región después del conflicto." — "I pacified the region after the conflict." 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 pacifica a los alumnos con un juego." — "He/she pacifies the students with a game."
  • Preterite: "Él pacificó a los alumnos con un juego." — "He/she pacified the students with a game." 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 pacificamos el ambiente en la reunión." — "We pacify the atmosphere in the meeting."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros pacificamos el ambiente en la reunión." — "We pacified the atmosphere in the meeting." 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 pacificar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo pacifico la región después del conflicto. — I pacify the region after the conflict.
  2. Tú pacificas a los alumnos con un juego. — You pacify the students with a game.
  3. Él pacifica el ambiente en la reunión. — He/she pacifies the atmosphere in the meeting.
  4. Nosotros pacificamos el país tras la guerra. — We pacify the country after the war.
  5. Vosotros pacificáis la región después del conflicto. — You all pacify the region after the conflict.
  6. Ellos pacifican a los alumnos con un juego. — They pacify the students with a game.
  7. Yo pacifico el ambiente en la reunión. — I pacify the atmosphere in the meeting.
  8. Él pacifica el país tras la guerra. — He/she pacifies the country after the war.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros pacificais a los alumnos con un juego. — Right: Vosotros pacificáis a los alumnos con un juego. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: pacificáis, not pacificais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo pacifico el ambiente en la reunión. — Right: Ayer, yo pacifiqué el ambiente en la reunión. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (pacifiqué), not the present (pacifico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo pacifica la región después del conflicto. — Right: Yo pacifico la región después del conflicto. — The person matters: pacifica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is pacifico.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy pacificado a los alumnos con un juego. — Right: Yo he pacificado a los alumnos con un juego. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he pacificado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la región después del conflicto. (present tense) A. pacifico B. pacificas C. pacifica D. pacificamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ a los alumnos con un juego. (present tense) A. pacificas B. pacifico C. pacifica D. pacificamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el ambiente en la reunión. (present tense) A. pacifica B. pacifico C. pacificas D. pacificamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el país tras la guerra. (present tense) A. pacificamos B. pacifico C. pacificas D. pacifica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ la región después del conflicto. (present tense) A. pacificáis B. pacifico C. pacificas D. pacifica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ a los alumnos con un juego. (present tense) A. pacifican B. pacifico C. pacificas D. pacifica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el ambiente en la reunión. (present tense) A. pacifico B. pacificas C. pacifica D. pacificamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el país tras la guerra. (present tense) A. pacifica B. pacifico C. pacificas D. pacificamos

Answer key

  1. pacifico — The yo present form of pacificar is pacifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. pacificas — The tu present form of pacificar is pacificas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. pacifica — The el present form of pacificar is pacifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. pacificamos — The nosotros present form of pacificar is pacificamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. pacificáis — The vosotros present form of pacificar is pacificáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. pacifican — The ellos present form of pacificar is pacifican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. pacifico — The yo present form of pacificar is pacifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. pacifica — The el present form of pacificar is pacifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of pacificar?

Use the present tense of pacificar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo pacifico la región después del conflicto. — "I pacify the region after the conflict." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of pacificar formed?

Take the stem pacific- 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 pacificar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo pacifico a los alumnos con un juego. with Yo pacifiqué a los alumnos con un juego. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of pacificar?

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

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