licenciar — Spanish conjugation

to dismiss

Frequency#1162Regular

Indicative

Present (Presente) Regular

The present tense is the most versatile tense in Spanish. It covers actions happening right now, habitual actions, and even near-future plans. One form does the work of three English constructions.

Ella habla inglés — She speaks / is speaking English

PronounSpanishEnglish
yolicencioI dismiss
licenciasyou dismiss
voslicenciásyou dismiss
él/ella/Ud.licenciahe/she/it dismisses
nosotroslicenciamoswe dismiss
vosotroslicenciáisyou (pl.) dismiss
ellos/ellas/Uds.licencianthey dismiss

Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) Regular

Used for completed past actions with a defined endpoint — a single event, a series of events, or an action that interrupted another. Common with time expressions like ayer, el lunes, una vez.

Ella habló de ti ayer — She spoke about you yesterday

PronounSpanishEnglish
yolicenciéI dismissed
licenciasteyou dismissed
voslicenciasteyou dismissed
él/ella/Ud.licencióhe/she/it dismissed
nosotroslicenciamoswe dismissed
vosotroslicenciasteisyou (pl.) dismissed
ellos/ellas/Uds.licenciaronthey dismissed

Imperfect (Pretérito imperfecto) Regular

Describes ongoing or habitual past states — what things were like, background context, what used to happen. Contrasts with the preterite which marks completed events.

Cuando era niño vivía en Valencia — When I was a child I lived in Valencia

PronounSpanish
yolicenciaba
licenciabas
voslicenciabas
él/ella/Ud.licenciaba
nosotroslicenciábamos
vosotroslicenciabais
ellos/ellas/Uds.licenciaban

Conditional (Condicional) Regular

Expresses hypothetical actions, polite requests, and what would happen under certain conditions. Also used for reported speech about the future from a past perspective.

¿Podrías ayudarme? — Could you help me?

PronounSpanishEnglish
yolicenciaríaI would dismiss
licenciaríasyou would dismiss
voslicenciaríasyou would dismiss
él/ella/Ud.licenciaríahe/she/it would dismiss
nosotroslicenciaríamoswe would dismiss
vosotroslicenciaríaisyou (pl.) would dismiss
ellos/ellas/Uds.licenciaríanthey would dismiss

Future (Futuro) Regular

Expresses future actions, predictions, and probability about the present. Formed with the full infinitive as stem for most verbs. In spoken Spanish, ir a + infinitive is often preferred for near future.

Ella hablará en conferencia mañana — She will speak at the conference tomorrow

PronounSpanishEnglish
yolicenciaréI will dismiss
licenciarásyou will dismiss
voslicenciarásyou will dismiss
él/ella/Ud.licenciaráhe/she/it will dismiss
nosotroslicenciaremoswe will dismiss
vosotroslicenciaréisyou (pl.) will dismiss
ellos/ellas/Uds.licenciaránthey will dismiss

Present perfect (Pretérito perfecto) Regular

A compound past tense linking a past action to the present moment — something that has happened and still feels recent or relevant. More common in Spain than Latin America where preterite is preferred.

Hoy he hablado con el jefe — Today I have spoken with the boss

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohe licenciadoI have dismissed
has licenciadoyou have dismissed
voshas licenciadoyou have dismissed
él/ella/Ud.ha licenciadohe/she/it has dismissed
nosotroshemos licenciadowe have dismissed
vosotroshabéis licenciadoyou (pl.) have dismissed
ellos/ellas/Uds.han licenciadothey have dismissed

Pluperfect (Pretérito pluscuamperfecto) Regular

The past of the past — describes an action that was already completed before another past event happened. Always implies a reference point in the past.

Ya había hablado cuando llegaste — She had already spoken when you arrived

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabía licenciadoI had dismissed
habías licenciadoyou had dismissed
voshabías licenciadoyou had dismissed
él/ella/Ud.había licenciadohe/she/it had dismissed
nosotroshabíamos licenciadowe had dismissed
vosotroshabíais licenciadoyou (pl.) had dismissed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habían licenciadothey had dismissed

Conditional perfect (Condicional perfecto) Regular

Expresses what would have happened — actions that were possible but did not occur, or regrets about the past. Formed with conditional of haber + past participle.

Habría hablado, pero no me dejaron — I would have spoken, but they did not let me

PronounSpanish
yohabría licenciado
habrías licenciado
voshabrías licenciado
él/ella/Ud.habría licenciado
nosotroshabríamos licenciado
vosotroshabríais licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrían licenciado

Future perfect (Futuro perfecto) Regular

Describes an action that will have been completed by a certain point in the future, or expresses probability about a recent past action.

Para el lunes habré terminado — By Monday I will have finished

PronounSpanishEnglish
yohabré licenciadoI will have dismissed
habrás licenciadoyou will have dismissed
voshabrás licenciadoyou will have dismissed
él/ella/Ud.habrá licenciadohe/she/it will have dismissed
nosotroshabremos licenciadowe will have dismissed
vosotroshabréis licenciadoyou (pl.) will have dismissed
ellos/ellas/Uds.habrán licenciadothey will have dismissed

Subjunctive

Present subjunctive (Subjuntivo presente) Regular

Used in subordinate clauses after expressions of desire, doubt, emotion, necessity, or impersonal statements. Triggered by a change of subject between the main and subordinate clause.

Espero que hable — I hope she speaks

PronounSpanish
yolicencie
licencies
voslicencies
él/ella/Ud.licencie
nosotroslicenciemos
vosotroslicenciéis
ellos/ellas/Uds.licencien

Imperfect subjunctive (-ra) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-ra)) Regular

The past subjunctive used after past main verbs, in if-clauses with conditional, and for polite softening. The -ra form is more common in everyday speech than the -se form.

Si pudiera, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yolicenciara
licenciaras
voslicenciaras
él/ella/Ud.licenciara
nosotroslicenciáramos
vosotroslicenciarais
ellos/ellas/Uds.licenciaran

Imperfect subjunctive (-se) (Subjuntivo imperfecto (-se)) Regular

The alternative past subjunctive form. Interchangeable with -ra in most contexts but slightly more literary or formal. Both forms are grammatically correct in all regions.

Si pudiese, lo haría — If I could, I would do it

PronounSpanish
yolicenciase
licenciases
voslicenciases
él/ella/Ud.licenciase
nosotroslicenciásemos
vosotroslicenciaseis
ellos/ellas/Uds.licenciasen

Perfect subjunctive (Pretérito perfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

A compound subjunctive that expresses completed actions in a subjunctive context — used after present or future main verbs expressing doubt, emotion or desire.

Dudo que ya haya llegado — I doubt she has already arrived

PronounSpanish
yohaya licenciado
hayas licenciado
voshayas licenciado
él/ella/Ud.haya licenciado
nosotroshayamos licenciado
vosotroshayáis licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hayan licenciado

Pluperfect subjunctive (Pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo) Regular

Expresses what had happened in hypothetical or unreal past contexts — the subjunctive equivalent of the pluperfect. Common in contrary-to-fact past conditions.

Si hubiera hablado, lo habrían creído — If she had spoken, they would have believed her

PronounSpanish
yohubiera licenciado
hubieras licenciado
voshubieras licenciado
él/ella/Ud.hubiera licenciado
nosotroshubiéramos licenciado
vosotroshubierais licenciado
ellos/ellas/Uds.hubieran licenciado

Other forms

Imperative (affirmative) (Imperativo afirmativo) Regular

Direct commands and instructions. The imperative only exists for tú, usted, nosotros, vosotros and ustedes — yo has no command form. Affirmative and negative forms use different conjugations.

Habla más despacio — Speak more slowly

PronounSpanish
licencia
voslicenciá
él/ella/Ud.licencie
nosotroslicenciemos
vosotroslicenciad
ustedeslicencien

Imperative (negative) (Imperativo negativo) Regular

Negative commands use the subjunctive forms for all persons. Formed with no + present subjunctive. This applies to all persons including tú where the affirmative uses a different form.

No hables tan rápido — Do not speak so fast

PronounSpanish
no licencies
vosno licencies
él/ella/Ud.no licencie
nosotrosno licenciemos
vosotrosno licenciéis
ustedesno licencien

Present progressive (Presente progresivo) Regular

Emphasises that an action is happening right now at this very moment. Less common than in English since the present tense already covers ongoing actions in Spanish.

Estoy hablando contigo — I am speaking with you

PronounSpanish
yoestoy licenciando
estás licenciando
vosestás licenciando
él/ella/Ud.está licenciando
nosotrosestamos licenciando
vosotrosestáis licenciando
ellos/ellas/Uds.están licenciando

Preterite progressive (Pretérito indefinido progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that was in progress throughout a completed past period. Uses the preterite of estar + gerund to emphasise the ongoing nature within a defined timeframe.

Estuvo hablando toda la tarde — He was talking all afternoon

PronounSpanish
yoestuve licenciando
estuviste licenciando
vosestuviste licenciando
él/ella/Ud.estuvo licenciando
nosotrosestuvimos licenciando
vosotrosestuvisteis licenciando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estuvieron licenciando

Imperfect progressive (Pretérito imperfecto progresivo) Regular

Emphasises an ongoing background action using the imperfect of estar + gerund. Layered on top of the imperfect which already conveys continuity — used for extra emphasis on the progressive nature.

Estaba hablando cuando entró — I was speaking when he came in

PronounSpanish
yoestaba licenciando
estabas licenciando
vosestabas licenciando
él/ella/Ud.estaba licenciando
nosotrosestábamos licenciando
vosotrosestabais licenciando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estaban licenciando

Conditional progressive (Condicional progresivo) Regular

Expresses what would be in progress under hypothetical conditions. Uses the conditional of estar + gerund. Less common but used for emphasis on the ongoing nature of a hypothetical action.

Estaría hablando ahora si pudiera — I would be speaking now if I could

PronounSpanish
yoestaría licenciando
estarías licenciando
vosestarías licenciando
él/ella/Ud.estaría licenciando
nosotrosestaríamos licenciando
vosotrosestaríais licenciando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarían licenciando

Future progressive (Futuro progresivo) Regular

Describes an action that will be in progress at a future point, or expresses probability about an ongoing present action. Uses the future of estar + gerund.

Mañana a esta hora estaré viajando — At this time tomorrow I will be travelling

PronounSpanish
yoestaré licenciando
estarás licenciando
vosestarás licenciando
él/ella/Ud.estará licenciando
nosotrosestaremos licenciando
vosotrosestaréis licenciando
ellos/ellas/Uds.estarán licenciando