Publicar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The present tense of publicar — "to publish" 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 publicar 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. Publicar means to publish, and it is used for publishing a book of poems, news in a newspaper, photos on social media and an article in a magazine. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is publiqué. To see it in a real sentence: Él publica un libro de poemas. — "He/she publishes a book of poems." 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: publicar
Every person of publicar in the present tense. The gerund is publicando and the past participle is publicado.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | publico |
| tú | publicas |
| él/ella/Ud. | publica |
| nosotros/as | publicamos |
| vosotros/as | publicáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | publican |
How the present indicative of publicar is formed
The present indicative of publicar is built from the stem public- 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 | publico |
| tú | -as | publicas |
| él/ella/Ud. | -a | publica |
| nosotros/as | -amos | publicamos |
| vosotros/as | -áis | publicáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -an | publican |
publicar 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 publico in particular.
The gerund of publicar is publicando and the past participle is publicado. 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 publicar
The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and publicar 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 publicar, this use looks like this: "Yo publico un libro de poemas." — "I publish a book of poems." 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 publicar, this use looks like this: "Él publica la noticia en el periódico." — "He/she publishes the news in the newspaper." 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 publicar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros publicamos las fotos en las redes sociales." — "We publish the photos on social media." 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 publicar, this use looks like this: "Ellos publican el artículo en la revista." — "They publish the article in the magazine." 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 publicar, this use looks like this: "Tú publicas un libro de poemas." — "You publish a book of poems." 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 publicar. 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 publico un libro de poemas." — "I publish a book of poems."
- Preterite: "Yo publiqué un libro de poemas." — "I published a book of poems." 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 publica la noticia en el periódico." — "He/she publishes the news in the newspaper."
- Preterite: "Él publicó la noticia en el periódico." — "He/she published the news in the newspaper." 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 publicamos las fotos en las redes sociales." — "We publish the photos on social media."
- Preterite: "Nosotros publicamos las fotos en las redes sociales." — "We published the photos on social media." 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 publicar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.
- Yo publico un libro de poemas. — I publish a book of poems.
- Tú publicas la noticia en el periódico. — You publish the news in the newspaper.
- Él publica las fotos en las redes sociales. — He/she publishes the photos on social media.
- Nosotros publicamos el artículo en la revista. — We publish the article in the magazine.
- Vosotros publicáis un libro de poemas. — You all publish a book of poems.
- Ellos publican la noticia en el periódico. — They publish the news in the newspaper.
- Yo publico las fotos en las redes sociales. — I publish the photos on social media.
- Él publica el artículo en la revista. — He/she publishes the article in the magazine.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Vosotros publicais la noticia en el periódico. — Right: Vosotros publicáis la noticia en el periódico. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: publicáis, not publicais.
- Wrong: Ayer, yo publico las fotos en las redes sociales. — Right: Ayer, yo publiqué las fotos en las redes sociales. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (publiqué), not the present (publico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
- Wrong: Yo publica un libro de poemas. — Right: Yo publico un libro de poemas. — The person matters: publica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is publico.
- Wrong: Yo soy publicado la noticia en el periódico. — Right: Yo he publicado la noticia en el periódico. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he publicado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
Quiz: test yourself
Eight questions on the present tense of publicar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ un libro de poemas. (present tense) A. publico B. publicas C. publica D. publicamos
Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la noticia en el periódico. (present tense) A. publicas B. publico C. publica D. publicamos
Complete the sentence: Él ___ las fotos en las redes sociales. (present tense) A. publica B. publico C. publicas D. publicamos
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el artículo en la revista. (present tense) A. publicamos B. publico C. publicas D. publica
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ un libro de poemas. (present tense) A. publicáis B. publico C. publicas D. publica
Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ la noticia en el periódico. (present tense) A. publican B. publico C. publicas D. publica
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ las fotos en las redes sociales. (present tense) A. publico B. publicas C. publica D. publicamos
Complete the sentence: Él ___ el artículo en la revista. (present tense) A. publica B. publico C. publicas D. publicamos
Answer key
- publico — The yo present form of publicar is publico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- publicas — The tu present form of publicar is publicas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- publica — The el present form of publicar is publica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- publicamos — The nosotros present form of publicar is publicamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- publicáis — The vosotros present form of publicar is publicáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- publican — The ellos present form of publicar is publican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- publico — The yo present form of publicar is publico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
- publica — The el present form of publicar is publica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
Frequently asked questions
When do I use the present tense of publicar?
Use the present tense of publicar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo publico un libro de poemas. — "I publish a book of poems." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.
How is the present tense of publicar formed?
Take the stem public- 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 publicar?
The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo publico la noticia en el periódico. with Yo publiqué la noticia en el periódico. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.
How do I practise the present tense of publicar?
Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the publicar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Publicar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.
Related links
- Publicar conjugation — the full conjugation of publicar in every tense.
- Publicar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for publicar.
- Spanish Present tense guide — the full guide to the present tense in Spanish.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Present Tense Conjugator — practise the present tense on any verb.