Significar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of significar — "to mean, to signify" 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 significar 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. Significar means to mean or to signify, and it is used for a word meaning something, an event meaning a lot to a family and a change meaning a new era. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is signifiqué. To see it in a real sentence: Él significa mucho para la familia. — "He/she means a lot to the family." 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: significar

Every person of significar in the present tense. The gerund is significando and the past participle is significado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo significo
tú significas
él/ella/Ud. significa
nosotros/as significamos
vosotros/as significáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. significan

How the present indicative of significar is formed

The present indicative of significar is built from the stem signific- 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 significo
tú -as significas
él/ella/Ud. -a significa
nosotros/as -amos significamos
vosotros/as -áis significáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an significan

significar 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 significo in particular.

The gerund of significar is significando and the past participle is significado. 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 significar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and significar 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 significar, this use looks like this: "Yo significo mucho para la familia." — "I mean a lot to the family." 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 significar, this use looks like this: "Él significa un cambio en la empresa." — "He/she means a change in the company." 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 significar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros significamos lo mismo en todos los idiomas." — "We mean the same thing in every language." 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 significar, this use looks like this: "Ellos significan el fin de una era." — "They mean the end of an era." 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 significar, this use looks like this: "Tú significas mucho para la familia." — "You mean a lot to the family." 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 significar. 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 significo mucho para la familia." — "I mean a lot to the family."
  • Preterite: "Yo signifiqué mucho para la familia." — "I meant a lot to the family." 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 significa un cambio en la empresa." — "He/she means a change in the company."
  • Preterite: "Él significó un cambio en la empresa." — "He/she meant a change in the company." 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 significamos lo mismo en todos los idiomas." — "We mean the same thing in every language."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros significamos lo mismo en todos los idiomas." — "We meant the same thing in every language." 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 significar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo significo mucho para la familia. — I mean a lot to the family.
  2. Tú significas un cambio en la empresa. — You mean a change in the company.
  3. Él significa lo mismo en todos los idiomas. — He/she means the same thing in every language.
  4. Nosotros significamos el fin de una era. — We mean the end of an era.
  5. Vosotros significáis mucho para la familia. — You all mean a lot to the family.
  6. Ellos significan un cambio en la empresa. — They mean a change in the company.
  7. Yo significo lo mismo en todos los idiomas. — I mean the same thing in every language.
  8. Él significa el fin de una era. — He/she means the end of an era.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros significais un cambio en la empresa. — Right: Vosotros significáis un cambio en la empresa. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: significáis, not significais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo significo lo mismo en todos los idiomas. — Right: Ayer, yo signifiqué lo mismo en todos los idiomas. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (signifiqué), not the present (significo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. Wrong: Yo significa mucho para la familia. — Right: Yo significo mucho para la familia. — The person matters: significa is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is significo.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy significado un cambio en la empresa. — Right: Yo he significado un cambio en la empresa. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he significado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

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

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ mucho para la familia. (present tense) A. significo B. significas C. significa D. significamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ un cambio en la empresa. (present tense) A. significas B. significo C. significa D. significamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ lo mismo en todos los idiomas. (present tense) A. significa B. significo C. significas D. significamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el fin de una era. (present tense) A. significamos B. significo C. significas D. significa

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ mucho para la familia. (present tense) A. significáis B. significo C. significas D. significa

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ un cambio en la empresa. (present tense) A. significan B. significo C. significas D. significa

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ lo mismo en todos los idiomas. (present tense) A. significo B. significas C. significa D. significamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el fin de una era. (present tense) A. significa B. significo C. significas D. significamos

Answer key

  1. significo — The yo present form of significar is significo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. significas — The tu present form of significar is significas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. significa — The el present form of significar is significa. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. significamos — The nosotros present form of significar is significamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. significáis — The vosotros present form of significar is significáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. significan — The ellos present form of significar is significan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. significo — The yo present form of significar is significo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. significa — The el present form of significar is significa. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of significar?

Use the present tense of significar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo significo mucho para la familia. — "I mean a lot to the family." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of significar formed?

Take the stem signific- 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 significar?

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo significo un cambio en la empresa. with Yo signifiqué un cambio en la empresa. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of significar?

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

Related links