castigar Present Conjugation
castigar — to punish
The present tense of castigar is completely regular: castigo, castigas, castiga, castigamos, castigáis, castigan.
castigar Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use this for habitual actions (e.g., how a parent disciplines) or general truths about consequences.
Notes on castigar in the Present
Castigar is fully regular in the present indicative.
Example Sentences
Si no haces la tarea, te castigo.
If you don't do your homework, I'll punish you.
yo
Esa ley castiga duramente el robo.
That law punishes theft harshly.
él/ella/usted
¿Por qué siempre castigas a tu hermano?
Why do you always punish your brother?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Adding a 'u' unnecessarily like 'castiguo'.
Correct: castigo
Why: The 'g' sounds hard naturally before 'o', so no extra 'u' is needed.
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Related Tenses
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.
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).