Ella Verbscomplicar to complicate Irregular Verb
At a glance: Complicar (to complicate) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: complico, complicas, complica, complicamos, complicáis, complican. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (compliqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (complique).

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The Indicative Present of complicar 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, “complico”, meaning “I complicate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | complico | I complicate |
| Tú | complicas | you complicate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complica | s/he complicates |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | complicamos | we complicate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | complicáis | you (plural) complicate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | complican | they complicate |
How it’s built: Regular: stem complic- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Preterite of complicar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “compliqué”, meaning “I complicated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | compliqué | I complicated |
| Tú | complicaste | you complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complicó | s/he complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | complicamos | we complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | complicasteis | you (plural) complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | complicaron | they complicated |
How it’s built: Yo changes c to qu (compliqué); the other forms are regular.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
The Indicative Imperfect of complicar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “complicaba”, meaning “I used to complicate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | complicaba | I used to complicate |
| Tú | complicabas | you used to complicate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complicaba | s/he used to complicate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | complicábamos | we used to complicate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | complicabais | you (plural) used to complicate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | complicaban | they used to complicate |
How it’s built: Regular: stem complic- plus the -ar endings.
The Indicative Present Continuous of complicar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy complicando”, meaning “I am complicating”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy complicando | I am complicating |
| Tú | estás complicando | you are complicating |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está complicando | s/he is complicating |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos complicando | we are complicating |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis complicando | you (plural) are complicating |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están complicando | they are complicating |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund complicando.
The Indicative Informal Future of complicar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a complicar”, meaning “I am going to complicate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a complicar | I am going to complicate |
| Tú | vas a complicar | you are going to complicate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a complicar | s/he is going to complicate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a complicar | we are going to complicate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a complicar | you (plural) are going to complicate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a complicar | they are going to complicate |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive complicar.
The Indicative Future of complicar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “complicaré”, meaning “I will complicate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | complicaré | I will complicate |
| Tú | complicarás | you will complicate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complicará | s/he will complicate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | complicaremos | we will complicate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | complicaréis | you (plural) will complicate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | complicarán | they will complicate |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive complicar plus the future endings.
The Indicative Conditional of complicar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “complicaría”, meaning “I would complicate”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | complicaría | I would complicate |
| Tú | complicarías | you would complicate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complicaría | s/he would complicate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | complicaríamos | we would complicate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | complicaríais | you (plural) would complicate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | complicarían | they would complicate |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive complicar plus the conditional endings.
The Indicative Present Perfect of complicar 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 complicado”, meaning “I have complicated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he complicado | I have complicated |
| Tú | has complicado | you have complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha complicado | s/he has complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos complicado | we have complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis complicado | you (plural) have complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han complicado | they have complicated |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle complicado.
The Indicative Past Perfect of complicar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había complicado”, meaning “I had complicated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había complicado | I had complicated |
| Tú | habías complicado | you had complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había complicado | s/he had complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos complicado | we had complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais complicado | you (plural) had complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían complicado | they had complicated |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle complicado.
The Indicative Future Perfect of complicar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré complicado”, meaning “I will have complicated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré complicado | I will have complicated |
| Tú | habrás complicado | you will have complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá complicado | s/he will have complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos complicado | we will have complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis complicado | you (plural) will have complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán complicado | they will have complicated |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle complicado.
The Indicative Conditional Perfect of complicar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría complicado”, meaning “I would have complicated”.
In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría complicado | I would have complicated |
| Tú | habrías complicado | you would have complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría complicado | s/he would have complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos complicado | we would have complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais complicado | you (plural) would have complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían complicado | they would have complicated |
How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle complicado.
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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, “complique”, meaning “I complicate”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | complique | I complicate |
| Tú | compliques | you complicate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complique | s/he complicates |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | compliquemos | we complicate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | compliquéis | you (plural) complicate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | compliquen | they complicate |
How it’s built: Every form changes c to qu (complique, compliques, complique, compliquemos, compliquéis, compliquen).
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, “complicara”, meaning “I complicated”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | complicara | I complicated |
| Tú | complicaras | you complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complicara | s/he complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | complicáramos | we complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | complicarais | you (plural) complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | complicaran | they complicated |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, complicaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (complicáramos).
The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “complicare”, meaning “I will complicate”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | complicare | I will complicate |
| Tú | complicares | you will complicate |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complicare | s/he will complicate |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | complicáremos | we will complicate |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | complicareis | you (plural) will complicate |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | complicaren | they will complicate |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, complicaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (complicáremos).
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 complicado”, meaning “I have complicated”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya complicado | I have complicated |
| Tú | hayas complicado | you have complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya complicado | s/he has complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos complicado | we have complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis complicado | you (plural) have complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan complicado | they have complicated |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle complicado.
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 complicado”, meaning “I had complicated”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera complicado | I had complicated |
| Tú | hubieras complicado | you had complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera complicado | s/he had complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos complicado | we had complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais complicado | you (plural) had complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran complicado | they had complicated |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle complicado.
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 complicado”, meaning “I will have complicated”.
In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere complicado | I will have complicated |
| Tú | hubieres complicado | you will have complicated |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere complicado | s/he will have complicated |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos complicado | we will have complicated |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis complicado | you (plural) will have complicated |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren complicado | they will have complicated |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle complicado.
The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “complique”, meaning “(to you formal) complicate!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | complica | (to you) complicate! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | complique | (to you formal) complicate! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | compliquemos | let's complicate! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | complicad | (to you plural) complicate! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | compliquen | (to you plural formal) complicate! |
How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (complica); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (complique, compliquemos, compliquen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (complicad).
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 complique”, meaning “(to you formal) don't complicate!”.
In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no compliques | (to you) don't complicate! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no complique | (to you formal) don't complicate! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no compliquemos | let's not complicate! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no compliquéis | (to you plural) don't complicate! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no compliquen | (to you plural formal) don't complicate! |
How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no compliques, no complique, no compliquemos, no compliquéis, no compliquen.
Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.
Complicar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (compliqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (complique).
In the present tense (presente), complicar is conjugated as: yo complico, tú complicas, él/ella/usted complica, nosotros complicamos, vosotros complicáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes complican. 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), complicar is conjugated as: yo compliqué, tú complicaste, él/ella/usted complicó, nosotros complicamos, vosotros complicasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes complicaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.
In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), complicar is conjugated as: yo complicaba, tú complicabas, él/ella/usted complicaba, nosotros complicábamos, vosotros complicabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes complicaban. 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), complicar is conjugated as: yo complicaré, tú complicarás, él/ella/usted complicará, nosotros complicaremos, vosotros complicaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes complicarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.
In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), complicar is conjugated as: yo complique, tú compliques, él/ella/usted complique, nosotros compliquemos, vosotros compliquéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes compliquen. 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.
Complicar means ‘to complicate’ and complicarse means ‘to get complicated’. Complicarse is the reflexive form of complicar, so it always takes a reflexive pronoun – me, te, se, nos, os or se – that matches the subject. The verb itself is conjugated the same way: in the present tense, yo complico becomes me complico. In the affirmative tú imperative the pronoun attaches to the end of the verb, so complica becomes complícate.
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