castigar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
castigar — to punish
The imperfect subjunctive of castigar is regular based on the third-person preterite: castigara, castigaras, castigara...
castigar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for hypothetical situations (if I were to punish...) or when the main verb is in the past and expresses a wish or emotion regarding a punishment.
Notes on castigar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is regular. It follows the standard pattern for -ar verbs starting from the 'castigaron' stem.
Example Sentences
Si mi padre me castigara, no podría ir a la fiesta.
If my father were to punish me, I couldn't go to the party.
él/ella/usted
Me dio miedo que nos castigaran.
I was afraid that they would punish us.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Ojalá no castigaras tanto a tu perro.
I wish you wouldn't punish your dog so much.
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the nosotros form: 'castigaramos'.
Correct: castigáramos
Why: The nosotros form of the imperfect subjunctive always requires an accent on the third-to-last syllable.
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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.
Conditional
yo: castigaría
The conditional of castigar is regular: castigaría, castigarías, castigaría, castigaríamos, castigaríais, castigarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: castigue
The present subjunctive of castigar requires a 'u' after the 'g' (castigue) to keep the hard 'g' sound.
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).