
castigar Conditional Conjugation
castigar — to punish
The conditional of castigar is regular: castigaría, castigarías, castigaría, castigaríamos, castigaríais, castigarían.
castigar Conditional Forms
When to Use the Conditional
Use this to express what someone 'would' do (e.g., 'I would punish him if I were you') or to speculate about a past punishment.
Notes on castigar in the Conditional
Castigar is fully regular in the conditional tense.
Example Sentences
Yo no castigaría a los niños por un accidente.
I wouldn't punish the children for an accident.
yo
¿Castigarías a tu mejor amigo?
Would you punish your best friend?
tú
Dijeron que castigarían al responsable.
They said they would punish the person responsible.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing conditional with future (castigaré vs castigaría).
Correct: castigaría
Why: The conditional expresses 'would', while the future expresses 'will'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: castigo
The present tense of castigar is completely regular: castigo, castigas, castiga, castigamos, castigáis, castigan.
Preterite
yo: castigué
The preterite of castigar is regular except for the 'yo' form (castigué), which adds a 'u' to keep the hard 'g' sound.
Imperfect
yo: castigaba
The imperfect of castigar is regular: castigaba, castigabas, castigaba, castigábamos, castigabais, castigaban.
Future
yo: castigaré
The future of castigar is regular: castigaré, castigarás, castigará, castigaremos, castigaréis, castigarán.
Present Subjunctive
yo: castigue
The present subjunctive of castigar requires a 'u' after the 'g' (castigue) to keep the hard 'g' sound.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: castigara
The imperfect subjunctive of castigar is regular based on the third-person preterite: castigara, castigaras, castigara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: castiga
The affirmative imperative uses 'castiga' (tú) and 'castigue' (usted), with the 'u' spelling change in formal forms.
Negative Imperative
yo: no castigues
The negative imperative of castigar uses 'no' + present subjunctive, always including the 'u' (no castigues).