Ella Verbsjustificar 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).

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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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | justifico | I justify |
| Tú | justificas | you justify |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justifica | s/he justifies |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justificamos | we justify |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justificáis | you (plural) justify |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justifican | they justify |
How it’s built: Regular: stem justific- plus the -ar endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | justifiqué | I justified |
| Tú | justificaste | you justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justificó | s/he justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justificamos | we justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justificasteis | you (plural) justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justificaron | they 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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | justificaba | I used to justify |
| Tú | justificabas | you used to justify |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justificaba | s/he used to justify |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justificábamos | we used to justify |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justificabais | you (plural) used to justify |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justificaban | they used to justify |
How it’s built: Regular: stem justific- plus the -ar endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | estoy justificando | I am justifying |
| Tú | estás justificando | you are justifying |
| Ella / Él / Usted | está justificando | s/he is justifying |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | estamos justificando | we are justifying |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | estáis justificando | you (plural) are justifying |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | están justificando | they are justifying |
How it’s built: Estar in the present (estoy, estás, está, estamos, estáis, están) plus the gerund justificando.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | voy a justificar | I am going to justify |
| Tú | vas a justificar | you are going to justify |
| Ella / Él / Usted | va a justificar | s/he is going to justify |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | vamos a justificar | we are going to justify |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | vais a justificar | you (plural) are going to justify |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | van a justificar | they are going to justify |
How it’s built: Ir in the present (voy, vas, va, vamos, vais, van), then a, then the infinitive justificar.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | justificaré | I will justify |
| Tú | justificarás | you will justify |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justificará | s/he will justify |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justificaremos | we will justify |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justificaréis | you (plural) will justify |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justificarán | they will justify |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive justificar plus the future endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | justificaría | I would justify |
| Tú | justificarías | you would justify |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justificaría | s/he would justify |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justificaríamos | we would justify |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justificaríais | you (plural) would justify |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justificarían | they would justify |
How it’s built: Regular: the infinitive justificar plus the conditional endings.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | he justificado | I have justified |
| Tú | has justificado | you have justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | ha justificado | s/he has justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hemos justificado | we have justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habéis justificado | you (plural) have justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | han justificado | they have justified |
How it’s built: Haber in the present (he, has, ha, hemos, habéis, han) plus the past participle justificado.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | había justificado | I had justified |
| Tú | habías justificado | you had justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | había justificado | s/he had justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habíamos justificado | we had justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habíais justificado | you (plural) had justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habían justificado | they had justified |
How it’s built: Haber in the imperfect (había, habías, había, habíamos, habíais, habían) plus the past participle justificado.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habré justificado | I will have justified |
| Tú | habrás justificado | you will have justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habrá justificado | s/he will have justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habremos justificado | we will have justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habréis justificado | you (plural) will have justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrán justificado | they will have justified |
How it’s built: Haber in the future (habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán) plus the past participle justificado.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | habría justificado | I would have justified |
| Tú | habrías justificado | you would have justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | habría justificado | s/he would have justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | habríamos justificado | we would have justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | habríais justificado | you (plural) would have justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | habrían justificado | they 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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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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | justifique | I justify |
| Tú | justifiques | you justify |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justifique | s/he justifies |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justifiquemos | we justify |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justifiquéis | you (plural) justify |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justifiquen | they 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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | justificara | I justified |
| Tú | justificaras | you justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justificara | s/he justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justificáramos | we justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justificarais | you (plural) justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justificaran | they justified |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, justificaron, without -ron, plus the -ra endings; nosotros adds an accent (justificáramos).
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | justificare | I will justify |
| Tú | justificares | you will justify |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justificare | s/he will justify |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justificáremos | we will justify |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justificareis | you (plural) will justify |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justificaren | they will justify |
How it’s built: Regular: the ellas/ellos preterite, justificaron, without -ron, plus the -re endings; nosotros adds an accent (justificáremos).
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | haya justificado | I have justified |
| Tú | hayas justificado | you have justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | haya justificado | s/he has justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hayamos justificado | we have justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hayáis justificado | you (plural) have justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hayan justificado | they have justified |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive present (haya, hayas, haya, hayamos, hayáis, hayan) plus the past participle justificado.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiera justificado | I had justified |
| Tú | hubieras justificado | you had justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiera justificado | s/he had justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéramos justificado | we had justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubierais justificado | you (plural) had justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieran justificado | they had justified |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive imperfect (hubiera, hubieras, hubiera, hubiéramos, hubierais, hubieran) plus the past participle justificado.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | hubiere justificado | I will have justified |
| Tú | hubieres justificado | you will have justified |
| Ella / Él / Usted | hubiere justificado | s/he will have justified |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | hubiéremos justificado | we will have justified |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | hubiereis justificado | you (plural) will have justified |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | hubieren justificado | they will have justified |
How it’s built: Haber in the subjunctive future (hubiere, hubieres, hubiere, hubiéremos, hubiereis, hubieren) plus the past participle justificado.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | justifica | (to you) justify! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | justifique | (to you formal) justify! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | justifiquemos | let's justify! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | justificad | (to you plural) justify! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | justifiquen | (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.
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".
| Pronoun | Spanish | English |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | - | - |
| Tú | no justifiques | (to you) don't justify! |
| Ella / Él / Usted | no justifique | (to you formal) don't justify! |
| Nosotras / Nosotros | no justifiquemos | let's not justify! |
| Vosotras / Vosotros | no justifiquéis | (to you plural) don't justify! |
| Ellas / Ellos / Ustedes | no 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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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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