Castigar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of castigar — “to punish” in English — is the form you need for what happens now, for habits and for general truths. This page gives you the full present conjugation table for castigar with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Castigar means to punish, and it is used for punishing a child, a student, a team or a criminal: you punish without dessert, with extra homework, with a fine, with prison. It is a regular verb with a spelling change, and it is common in school, sport and law. Castigar is a spelling-changing verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Castigo a mi hijo sin postre.

Present tense conjugation table: castigar

Every person of castigar in the present tense. The gerund is castigando and the past participle is castigado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo castigo
tú castigas
él/ella/Ud. castiga
nosotros/as castigamos
vosotros/as castigáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. castigan

How the present of castigar is formed

The present of castigar is built from the stem castig- plus the present endings for -ar verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ar ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.

Person Ending Form
yo -o castigo
tú -as castigas
él/ella/Ud. -a castiga
nosotros/as -amos castigamos
vosotros/as -áis castigáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an castigan

For castigar there are no surprises in the present: every form is the stem castig- plus the regular ending, so once you know the endings you know the whole tense.

When to use the present tense with castigar

Habits and routines

Use the present for things you do regularly.

Yo castigo a mi hijo sin postre. — I punish my son with no dessert.

General facts

Use the present for facts and general truths that do not change.

Él/Ella castiga al alumno con más deberes. — He punishes the student with more homework.

What is happening right now

Use the present for what is happening at this moment.

Ahora, Nosotros/as castigamos al equipo con una multa. — Right now, We punish the team with a fine.

Near-future plans

Use the present for fixed plans in the near future, especially with mañana or la semana que viene.

Mañana, Tú castigas a los culpables con prisión. — Tomorrow, You punish the guilty with prison.

Instructions and timeless statements

Use the present for instructions, rules and statements that are always true.

Él/Ella castiga a mi hijo sin postre. — He punishes my son with no dessert.

The present vs the preterite

The present and the preterite answer different questions: the present says what happens regularly or right now, while the preterite says what happened once and finished. Compare the same idea in both tenses with castigar.

  1. Yo castigo a mi hijo sin postre. — I punish my son with no dessert. / Ayer, Yo castigué a mi hijo sin postre. — Yesterday, I punished my son with no dessert.
  2. Yo castigo al alumno con más deberes. — I punish the student with more homework. / Ayer, Yo castigué al alumno con más deberes. — Yesterday, I punished the student with more homework.
  3. Yo castigo al equipo con una multa. — I punish the team with a fine. / Ayer, Yo castigué al equipo con una multa. — Yesterday, I punished the team with a fine.

Example sentences in the present tense

Seven sentences with castigar in the present tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo castigo a mi hijo sin postre. — I punish my son with no dessert.
  2. Tú castigas al alumno con más deberes. — You punish the student with more homework.
  3. Él/Ella castiga al equipo con una multa. — He punishes the team with a fine.
  4. Nosotros/as castigamos a los culpables con prisión. — We punish the guilty with prison.
  5. Vosotros/as castigáis a mi hijo sin postre. — You punish my son with no dessert.
  6. Ellos/as castigan al alumno con más deberes. — They punish the student with more homework.
  7. Yo castigo al equipo con una multa. — I punish the team with a fine.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo castiga a mi hijo sin postre. — Right: Yo castigo a mi hijo sin postre. — The person matters: castiga is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is castigo.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo castigo al alumno con más deberes. — Right: Ayer, yo castigué al alumno con más deberes. — With ayer, use the preterite (castigué), not the present. The present is for habits and for right now.
  3. Wrong: Using castigar where sancionar belongs. — Right: Castigar means to punish, while sancionar means to punish or sanction officially. — Check the meaning before you choose: castigar fits Castigo a mi hijo sin postre.
  4. Wrong: Espero que él castiga al alumno con más deberes. — Right: Espero que él castigue al alumno con más deberes. — After espero que, Spanish needs the subjunctive: castigue, not the present indicative castiga.

Quiz: the present tense of castigar

Eight questions on the present tense of castigar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a mi hijo sin postre. (present tense, yo) A. castigo B. castigas C. castiga D. castigamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ al alumno con más deberes. (present tense, tú) A. castigo B. castiga C. castigamos D. castigas

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ al equipo con una multa. (present tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. castigas B. castigamos C. castiga D. castigo

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ a los culpables con prisión. (present tense, nosotros/as) A. castiga B. castigamos C. castigo D. castigas

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ a mi hijo sin postre. (present tense, vosotros/as) A. castigáis B. castigo C. castigas D. castiga

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ al alumno con más deberes. (present tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. castigo B. castigas C. castiga D. castigan

  7. Which is the gerund of castigar? A. castigo B. castigué C. castigando D. castigado

  8. Which is the past participle of castigar, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. castigué B. castigado C. castigando D. castigo

Answer key

  1. castigo — The yo present form of castigar is castigo.
  2. castigas — The tú present form of castigar is castigas.
  3. castiga — The él/ella/Ud. present form of castigar is castiga.
  4. castigamos — The nosotros/as present form of castigar is castigamos.
  5. castigáis — The vosotros/as present form of castigar is castigáis.
  6. castigan — The ellos/ellas/Uds. present form of castigar is castigan.
  7. castigando — The gerund of castigar is castigando: estoy castigando.
  8. castigado — The past participle of castigar is castigado: he castigado, has castigado, ha castigado.

Frequently asked questions

How is the present tense of castigar formed?

Take the infinitive castigar, drop the -ar ending to get the stem castig-, then add the present endings: -o, -as, -a, -amos, -áis, -an. The full table is above, with every person. No, the present of castigar is fully regular: the stem castig- plus the standard -ar endings gives every form.

When do I use the present tense of castigar?

Use the present for habits, facts and what is happening right now. For example: Castigo a mi hijo sin postre.

What is the difference between the present and the preterite of castigar?

The present (castigo) and the preterite (castigué) answer different questions: the present is for habits and for right now, while the preterite is for one finished action. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the present of castigar?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of castigar to see how the present fits with the other tenses, and the castigar examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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