Ella Verbscalificar to rate, to grade, to score Irregular Verb
At a glance: Calificar (to rate, to grade, to score) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: califico, calificas, califica, calificamos, calificáis, califican. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (califiqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (califique).

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The Indicative Present of calificar is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “califico”, meaning “I rate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | califico | I rate |
| Tú | calificas | you rate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | califica | s/he rates |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | calificamos | we rate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | calificáis | you (plural) rate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | califican | they rate |
How it’s built: Regular: stem calific- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Preterite of calificar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “califiqué”, meaning “I rated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | califiqué | I rated |
| Tú | calificaste | you rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | calificó | s/he rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | calificamos | we rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | calificasteis | you (plural) rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | calificaron | they rated |
How it’s built: Yo changes c to qu (califiqué); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of calificar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “calificaba”, meaning “I used to rate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | calificaba | I used to rate |
| Tú | calificabas | you used to rate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | calificaba | s/he used to rate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | calificábamos | we used to rate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | calificabais | you (plural) used to rate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | calificaban | they used to rate |
How it’s built: Regular: stem calific- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of calificar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy calificando”, meaning “I am rating”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy calificando | I am rating |
| Tú | estás calificando | you are rating |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está calificando | s/he is rating |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos calificando | we are rating |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis calificando | you (plural) are rating |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están calificando | they are rating |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund calificando.
The Indicative Informal Future of calificar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a calificar”, meaning “I am going to rate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a calificar | I am going to rate |
| Tú | vas a calificar | you are going to rate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a calificar | s/he is going to rate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a calificar | we are going to rate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a calificar | you (plural) are going to rate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a calificar | they are going to rate |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive calificar.
The Indicative Future of calificar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “calificaré”, meaning “I will rate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | calificaré | I will rate |
| Tú | calificarás | you will rate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | calificará | s/he will rate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | calificaremos | we will rate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | calificaréis | you (plural) will rate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | calificarán | they will rate |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive calificar plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of calificar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “calificaría”, meaning “I would rate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | calificaría | I would rate |
| Tú | calificarías | you would rate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | calificaría | s/he would rate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | calificaríamos | we would rate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | calificaríais | you (plural) would rate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | calificarían | they would rate |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive calificar plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of calificar is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he calificado”, meaning “I have rated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he calificado | I have rated |
| Tú | has calificado | you have rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha calificado | s/he has rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos calificado | we have rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis calificado | you (plural) have rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han calificado | they have rated |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle calificado.
The Indicative Past Perfect of calificar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había calificado”, meaning “I had rated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había calificado | I had rated |
| Tú | habías calificado | you had rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había calificado | s/he had rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos calificado | we had rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais calificado | you (plural) had rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían calificado | they had rated |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle calificado.
The Indicative Future Perfect of calificar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré calificado”, meaning “I will have rated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré calificado | I will have rated |
| Tú | habrás calificado | you will have rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá calificado | s/he will have rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos calificado | we will have rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis calificado | you (plural) will have rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán calificado | they will have rated |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle calificado.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of calificar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría calificado”, meaning “I would have rated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría calificado | I would have rated |
| Tú | habrías calificado | you would have rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría calificado | s/he would have rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos calificado | we would have rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais calificado | you (plural) would have rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían calificado | they would have rated |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle calificado.
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The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “califique”, meaning “I rate”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | califique | I rate |
| Tú | califiques | you rate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | califique | s/he rates |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | califiquemos | we rate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | califiquéis | you (plural) rate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | califiquen | they rate |
How it’s built: Every form changes c to qu (califique, califiques, califique, califiquemos, califiquéis, califiquen).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “calificara”, meaning “I rated”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | calificara | I rated |
| Tú | calificaras | you rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | calificara | s/he rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | calificáramos | we rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | calificarais | you (plural) rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | calificaran | they rated |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, calificaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (calificáramos).
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “calificare”, meaning “I will rate”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | calificare | I will rate |
| Tú | calificares | you will rate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | calificare | s/he will rate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | calificáremos | we will rate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | calificareis | you (plural) will rate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | calificaren | they will rate |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, calificaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (calificáremos).
The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya calificado”, meaning “I have rated”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya calificado | I have rated |
| Tú | hayas calificado | you have rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya calificado | s/he has rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos calificado | we have rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis calificado | you (plural) have rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan calificado | they have rated |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle calificado.
The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera calificado”, meaning “I had rated”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera calificado | I had rated |
| Tú | hubieras calificado | you had rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera calificado | s/he had rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos calificado | we had rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais calificado | you (plural) had rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran calificado | they had rated |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle calificado.
The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere calificado”, meaning “I will have rated”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere calificado | I will have rated |
| Tú | hubieres calificado | you will have rated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere calificado | s/he will have rated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos calificado | we will have rated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis calificado | you (plural) will have rated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren calificado | they will have rated |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle calificado.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “califique”, meaning “(to you formal) rate!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | califica | (to you) rate! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | califique | (to you formal) rate! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | califiquemos | let's rate! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | calificad | (to you plural) rate! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | califiquen | (to you plural formal) rate! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (califica); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (califique, califiquemos, califiquen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (calificad).
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no califique”, meaning “(to you formal) don't rate!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no califiques | (to you) don't rate! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no califique | (to you formal) don't rate! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no califiquemos | let's not rate! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no califiquéis | (to you plural) don't rate! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no califiquen | (to you plural formal) don't rate! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no califiques, no califique, no califiquemos, no califiquéis, no califiquen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Calificar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (califiqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (califique).
In the present tense (presente), calificar is conjugated as: yo califico, tú calificas, él/ella/usted califica, nosotros calificamos, vosotros calificáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes califican. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.
In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), calificar is conjugated as: yo califiqué, tú calificaste, él/ella/usted calificó, nosotros calificamos, vosotros calificasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes calificaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), calificar is conjugated as: yo calificaba, tú calificabas, él/ella/usted calificaba, nosotros calificábamos, vosotros calificabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes calificaban. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.
In the future tense (futuro simple), calificar is conjugated as: yo calificaré, tú calificarás, él/ella/usted calificará, nosotros calificaremos, vosotros calificaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes calificarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), calificar is conjugated as: yo califique, tú califiques, él/ella/usted califique, nosotros califiquemos, vosotros califiquéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes califiquen. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.
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