Inklingo

How to Say "to testify" in Spanish

The Spanish word forto testifyis testificarB1 level.

English → SpanishB1
verbB1formal
give evidence in court
A storybook illustration showing a person standing in a simple wooden witness box in a courtroom, raising their right hand as if giving an oath or evidence.

Examples

El testigo se negó a testificar sin la presencia de su abogado.

The witness refused to testify without the presence of his lawyer.

¿Puedes testificar que viste el accidente?

Can you testify that you saw the accident?

La policía le pidió que testificara sobre lo ocurrido.

The police asked him to give evidence about what happened.

The C to QU Spelling Rule

Even though 'testificar' is a regular verb, you must change the 'c' to 'qu' whenever it is followed by an 'e' (like in 'yo testifiqué' or 'que él testifique'). This change keeps the hard 'k' sound consistent.

Forgetting the Spelling Change

Mistake:Yo testicé (instead of testifiqué)

Correction: The correct preterite (past tense) is 'yo testifiqué'. Remember the 'qu' to keep the sound correct.

Related Translations

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