
juzgar Preterite Conjugation
juzgar — to judge
The preterite of juzgar features a spelling change in the first person (juzgué) to keep the hard 'g' sound.
juzgar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you are talking about a specific instance where a judgment was made or a legal verdict was handed down at a definite point in time.
Notes on juzgar in the Preterite
It is a 'g' to 'gu' spelling-change verb. Only the 'yo' form is affected (juzgué instead of juzgé) to preserve the hard 'g' sound before the letter 'e'.
Example Sentences
Yo juzgué el concurso de cocina el año pasado.
I judged the cooking contest last year.
yo
El público juzgó su actuación con dureza.
The public judged his performance harshly.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros juzgamos el caso basándonos en las pruebas.
We judged the case based on the evidence.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'juzgé' instead of 'juzgué'.
Correct: juzgué
Why: In Spanish, 'ge' sounds like 'he'. You need the 'u' to keep the hard 'g' sound of the infinitive.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'juzgar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: juzgo
The present tense of juzgar is regular: juzgo, juzgas, juzga, juzgamos, juzgáis, juzgan.
Imperfect
yo: juzgaba
The imperfect of juzgar is regular: juzgaba, juzgabas, juzgaba, juzgábamos, juzgabais, juzgaban.
Future
yo: juzgaré
The future tense of juzgar is regular, adding endings to the full infinitive: juzgaré, juzgarás, juzgará...
Conditional
yo: juzgaría
The conditional is regular: juzgaría, juzgarías, juzgaría, juzgaríamos, juzgaríais, juzgarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: juzgue
The present subjunctive requires a spelling change in all forms: juzgue, juzgues, juzgue, juzguemos, juzguéis, juzguen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: juzgara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite stem: juzgara, juzgaras, juzgara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: juzga
The imperative uses 'juzga' (tú) but requires the 'gu' change for formal and plural commands (juzgue, juzguen).
Negative Imperative
yo: no juzgues
Negative commands always use the present subjunctive forms: no juzgues, no juzgue, no juzguemos...