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How to conjugate Justificar in Spanish

justificar to justify, to explain Irregular Verb

At a glance: Justificar (to justify, to explain) is a irregular verb in Spanish. In the present tense: justifico, justificas, justifica, justificamos, justificáis, justifican. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (justifiqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (justifique).

Past participle
justificado justified
Gerund
justificando justifying
Similar
explicar
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Indicative tenses of Justificar

Justificar in the Indicative Present

The Indicative Present of justificar is used to talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths. For example, “justifico”, meaning “I justify”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present is known as "El Presente".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YojustificoI justify
Tújustificasyou justify
Ella / Él / Ustedjustificas/he justifies
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustificamoswe justify
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustificáisyou (plural) justify
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustificanthey justify

How it’s built: Regular: stem justific- plus the -ar endings.

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Justificar in the Indicative Preterite

The Indicative Preterite of justificar is used to talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time. For example, “justifiqué”, meaning “I justified”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Preterite is known as "El Pretérito Indefinido".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YojustifiquéI justified
Tújustificasteyou justified
Ella / Él / Ustedjustificós/he justified
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustificamoswe justified
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustificasteisyou (plural) justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustificaronthey justified

How it’s built: Yo changes c to qu (justifiqué); the other forms are regular.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Justificar in the Indicative Imperfect

The Indicative Imperfect of justificar is used to describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do. For example, “justificaba”, meaning “I used to justify”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Imperfect is known as "El Pretérito Imperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YojustificabaI used to justify
Tújustificabasyou used to justify
Ella / Él / Ustedjustificabas/he used to justify
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustificábamoswe used to justify
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustificabaisyou (plural) used to justify
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustificabanthey used to justify

How it’s built: Regular: stem justific- plus the -ar endings.

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Justificar in the Indicative Present Continuous

The Indicative Present Continuous of justificar is used to talk about something that is happening continuously or right now. For example, “estoy justificando”, meaning “I am justifying”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Continuous is known as "El Presente Progresivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yoestoy justificandoI am justifying
Túestás justificandoyou are justifying
Ella / Él / Ustedestá justificandos/he is justifying
Nosotras / Nosotrosestamos justificandowe are justifying
Vosotras / Vosotrosestáis justificandoyou (plural) are justifying
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesestán justificandothey are justifying

How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund justificando.

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Justificar in the Indicative Informal Future

The Indicative Informal Future of justificar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future, especially in the near future. For example, “voy a justificar”, meaning “I am going to justify”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Informal Future is known as "El Futuro Próximo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yovoy a justificarI am going to justify
Túvas a justificaryou are going to justify
Ella / Él / Ustedva a justificars/he is going to justify
Nosotras / Nosotrosvamos a justificarwe are going to justify
Vosotras / Vosotrosvais a justificaryou (plural) are going to justify
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesvan a justificarthey are going to justify

How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive justificar.

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Justificar in the Indicative Future

The Indicative Future of justificar is used to talk about something that will happen in the future. For example, “justificaré”, meaning “I will justify”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future is known as "El Futuro Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YojustificaréI will justify
Tújustificarásyou will justify
Ella / Él / Ustedjustificarás/he will justify
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustificaremoswe will justify
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustificaréisyou (plural) will justify
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustificaránthey will justify

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive justificar plus the future endings.

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Justificar in the Indicative Conditional

The Indicative Conditional of justificar is used to talk about something that may happen in the future, hypothesis and probabilities. For example, “justificaría”, meaning “I would justify”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional is known as "El Condicional Simple".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YojustificaríaI would justify
Tújustificaríasyou would justify
Ella / Él / Ustedjustificarías/he would justify
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustificaríamoswe would justify
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustificaríaisyou (plural) would justify
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustificaríanthey would justify

How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive justificar plus the conditional endings.

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Justificar in the Indicative Present Perfect

The Indicative Present Perfect of justificar is used to describe actions that started recently (in the past) and are still happening now or things that have been done recently. For example, “he justificado”, meaning “I have justified”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohe justificadoI have justified
Túhas justificadoyou have justified
Ella / Él / Ustedha justificados/he has justified
Nosotras / Nosotroshemos justificadowe have justified
Vosotras / Vosotroshabéis justificadoyou (plural) have justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshan justificadothey have justified

How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle justificado.

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Justificar in the Indicative Past Perfect

The Indicative Past Perfect of justificar is used to talk about actions that happened before another action in the past. For example, “había justificado”, meaning “I had justified”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabía justificadoI had justified
Túhabías justificadoyou had justified
Ella / Él / Ustedhabía justificados/he had justified
Nosotras / Nosotroshabíamos justificadowe had justified
Vosotras / Vosotroshabíais justificadoyou (plural) had justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabían justificadothey had justified

How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle justificado.

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Justificar in the Indicative Future Perfect

The Indicative Future Perfect of justificar is used to talk about something that will have happened in the future after something else has already happened. For example, “habré justificado”, meaning “I will have justified”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabré justificadoI will have justified
Túhabrás justificadoyou will have justified
Ella / Él / Ustedhabrá justificados/he will have justified
Nosotras / Nosotroshabremos justificadowe will have justified
Vosotras / Vosotroshabréis justificadoyou (plural) will have justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrán justificadothey will have justified

How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle justificado.

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Justificar in the Indicative Conditional Perfect

The Indicative Conditional Perfect of justificar is used to talk about something that would have happened in the past but didn’t due to another action. For example, “habría justificado”, meaning “I would have justified”.

In Spanish, the Indicative Conditional Perfect is known as "El Condicional Perfecto".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohabría justificadoI would have justified
Túhabrías justificadoyou would have justified
Ella / Él / Ustedhabría justificados/he would have justified
Nosotras / Nosotroshabríamos justificadowe would have justified
Vosotras / Vosotroshabríais justificadoyou (plural) would have justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshabrían justificadothey would have justified

How it’s built: Haber in the conditional (habría, habrías, habría, habríamos, habríais, habrían) plus the past participle justificado.

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Subjunctive tenses of Justificar

Justificar in the Subjunctive Present

The Subjunctive Present is used to talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about. For example, “justifique”, meaning “I justify”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present is known as "El Presente de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YojustifiqueI justify
Tújustifiquesyou justify
Ella / Él / Ustedjustifiques/he justifies
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustifiquemoswe justify
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustifiquéisyou (plural) justify
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustifiquenthey justify

How it’s built: Every form changes c to qu (justifique, justifiques, justifique, justifiquemos, justifiquéis, justifiquen).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Justificar in the Subjunctive Imperfect

The Subjunctive Imperfect is used to speak about unlikely or uncertain events in the past or to cast an opinion (emotional) about something that happened in the past. For example, “justificara”, meaning “I justified”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Imperfect is known as "El Imperfecto Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YojustificaraI justified
Tújustificarasyou justified
Ella / Él / Ustedjustificaras/he justified
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustificáramoswe justified
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustificaraisyou (plural) justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustificaranthey justified

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, justificaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (justificáramos).

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Justificar in the Subjunctive Future

The Subjunctive Future is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that may happen in the future. For example, “justificare”, meaning “I will justify”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future is known as "El Futuro de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
YojustificareI will justify
Tújustificaresyou will justify
Ella / Él / Ustedjustificares/he will justify
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustificáremoswe will justify
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustificareisyou (plural) will justify
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustificarenthey will justify

How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, justificaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (justificáremos).

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Justificar in the Subjunctive Present Perfect

The Subjunctive Present Perfect is used to describe past actions or events that are still connected to the present day and to speak about an action that will have happened by a certain time in the future. For example, “haya justificado”, meaning “I have justified”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Present Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohaya justificadoI have justified
Túhayas justificadoyou have justified
Ella / Él / Ustedhaya justificados/he has justified
Nosotras / Nosotroshayamos justificadowe have justified
Vosotras / Vosotroshayáis justificadoyou (plural) have justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshayan justificadothey have justified

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle justificado.

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Justificar in the Subjunctive Past Perfect

The Subjunctive Past Perfect is used to speak about hypothetical situations, and actions/events that occurred before other actions/events in the past. For example, “hubiera justificado”, meaning “I had justified”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Past Perfect is known as "El Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiera justificadoI had justified
Túhubieras justificadoyou had justified
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiera justificados/he had justified
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéramos justificadowe had justified
Vosotras / Vosotroshubierais justificadoyou (plural) had justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieran justificadothey had justified

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle justificado.

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Justificar in the Subjunctive Future Perfect

The Subjunctive Future Perfect is used to speak about something that will have happened if a hypothetical situations occurs in the future. For example, “hubiere justificado”, meaning “I will have justified”.

In Spanish, the Subjunctive Future Perfect is known as "El Futuro Perfecto de Subjuntivo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yohubiere justificadoI will have justified
Túhubieres justificadoyou will have justified
Ella / Él / Ustedhubiere justificados/he will have justified
Nosotras / Nosotroshubiéremos justificadowe will have justified
Vosotras / Vosotroshubiereis justificadoyou (plural) will have justified
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedeshubieren justificadothey will have justified

How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle justificado.

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Imperative tenses of Justificar

Justificar in the Imperative Affirmative

The Imperative Affirmative is used to give orders and commands, to tell someone to do something. For example, “justifique”, meaning “(to you formal) justify!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Affirmative is known as "El Imperativo Afirmativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Tújustifica(to you) justify!
Ella / Él / Ustedjustifique(to you formal) justify!
Nosotras / Nosotrosjustifiquemoslet's justify!
Vosotras / Vosotrosjustificad(to you plural) justify!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesjustifiquen(to you plural formal) justify!

How it’s built: Tú takes the ella/él present (justifica); usted, nosotros and ustedes take the subjunctive present (justifique, justifiquemos, justifiquen); vosotros swaps the final r of the infinitive for a d (justificad).

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Justificar in the Imperative Negative

The Imperative Negative is used to give orders and commands, telling someone not to do something. For example, “no justifique”, meaning “(to you formal) don't justify!”.

In Spanish, the Imperative Negative is known as "El Imperativo Negativo".

PronounSpanishEnglish
Yo--
Túno justifiques(to you) don't justify!
Ella / Él / Ustedno justifique(to you formal) don't justify!
Nosotras / Nosotrosno justifiquemoslet's not justify!
Vosotras / Vosotrosno justifiquéis(to you plural) don't justify!
Ellas / Ellos / Ustedesno justifiquen(to you plural formal) don't justify!

How it’s built: No plus the subjunctive present: no justifiques, no justifique, no justifiquemos, no justifiquéis, no justifiquen.

Letters in red show where a form differs from the regular pattern.

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Frequently asked questions about Justificar

Is justificar a regular or irregular verb?

Justificar is an irregular Spanish verb. The present tense is regular. In the preterite: yo changes c to qu (justifiqué); the other forms are regular. It is also irregular in the present subjunctive (justifique).

How do you conjugate justificar in the present tense (presente)?

In the present tense (presente), justificar is conjugated as: yo justifico, tú justificas, él/ella/usted justifica, nosotros justificamos, vosotros justificáis, ellos/ellas/ustedes justifican. The present tense is used To talk about situations, events or thoughts that are happening now or in the near future. It is also used to talk about facts and truths.

How do you conjugate justificar in the preterite (pretérito indefinido)?

In the preterite (pretérito indefinido), justificar is conjugated as: yo justifiqué, tú justificaste, él/ella/usted justificó, nosotros justificamos, vosotros justificasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes justificaron. The preterite is used To talk about actions completed in the past, at a specific point in time.

How do you conjugate justificar in the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto)?

In the imperfect (pretérito imperfecto), justificar is conjugated as: yo justificaba, tú justificabas, él/ella/usted justificaba, nosotros justificábamos, vosotros justificabais, ellos/ellas/ustedes justificaban. The imperfect is used To describe regular and repeated actions that happened in the past and descriptions of things you used to do.

How do you conjugate justificar in the future tense (futuro simple)?

In the future tense (futuro simple), justificar is conjugated as: yo justificaré, tú justificarás, él/ella/usted justificará, nosotros justificaremos, vosotros justificaréis, ellos/ellas/ustedes justificarán. The future tense is used To talk about something that will happen in the future.

How do you conjugate justificar in the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente)?

In the present subjunctive (subjuntivo presente), justificar is conjugated as: yo justifique, tú justifiques, él/ella/usted justifique, nosotros justifiquemos, vosotros justifiquéis, ellos/ellas/ustedes justifiquen. The present subjunctive is used To talk about situations of uncertainty, or emotions such as wishes, desires and hopes. It differs from the indicative mood due to the uncertainty of the events which are being spoken about.


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