calificar Present Conjugation
calificar — to grade
The present tense of calificar is completely regular: califico, calificas, califica, calificamos, calificáis, califican.
calificar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use this for habitual actions (like a teacher who grades every Friday) or to state facts about how things are rated.
Notes on calificar in the Present
Calificar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense. No spelling changes are needed here because the 'c' is followed by 'o' or 'a', which naturally makes the hard 'k' sound.
Example Sentences
Yo califico los exámenes con una pluma roja.
I grade the exams with a red pen.
yo
Ella siempre califica de manera muy estricta.
She always grades very strictly.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros calificamos las aplicaciones hoy mismo.
We are grading/rating the applications today.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Thinking 'calificamos' is only past tense.
Correct: calificamos
Why: For -ar verbs, the nosotros form is identical in both the present and the preterite. Use context clues to tell them apart.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: califiqué
The preterite of calificar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'califiqué' to maintain the hard 'k' sound.
Imperfect
yo: calificaba
The imperfect of calificar is regular: calificaba, calificabas, calificaba, calificábamos, calificabais, calificaban.
Future
yo: calificaré
The future tense of calificar is regular: calificaré, calificarás, calificará, calificaremos, calificaréis, calificarán.
Conditional
yo: calificaría
The conditional of calificar is regular: calificaría, calificarías, calificaría, calificaríamos, calificaríais, calificarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: califique
The present subjunctive of calificar requires a spelling change from 'c' to 'qu' in all forms: califique, califiques, califique, califiquemos, califiquéis, califiquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: calificara
The imperfect subjunctive of calificar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: calificara, calificaras, calificara, calificáramos, calificarais, calificaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: califica
The affirmative imperative uses califica (tú) and califique (usted), maintaining the 'qu' spelling change for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no califiques
The negative imperative always uses the 'qu' spelling change: no califiques, no califique, no califiquemos, no califiquéis, no califiquen.