Criticar Conjugation in Spanish
The Spanish verb criticar means to criticise, and it is a verb you will use again and again once you know it. Criticar means to criticise, and it covers criticising a film on a blog, criticising the government in a debate and criticising a colleague's work or a restaurant's food. It is the opposite of alabar, to praise, and it is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. Like every Spanish verb, criticar changes its ending for each person and tense, and this page gives you the complete picture: every tense, every person, the gerund and the past participle, all from the verified conjugation tables. For example, in the present tense you say critico la película en su blog, and in the preterite you say critiqué el trabajo de su compañero. Work through the tables below, read the notes for each tense, and then test yourself with the examples, the common mistakes and the quiz at the end of the page.
Quick facts
- Infinitive: criticar
- English: to criticise
- Verb type: irregular verb
- Ending: -ar
- Gerund: criticando
- Past participle: criticado
- Auxiliary verb: haber (all perfect tenses are formed with haber + criticado)
Pronunciation is not listed on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for criticar, so no pronunciation is given rather than an invented one. Spelling change: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is critiqué and the subjunctive is critique. Criticar algo is to criticise it.
Full conjugation tables
Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for criticar. The imperfect subjunctive is shown in its -ra forms; the -se forms use the same stem. For reflexive verbs, the pronoun column shows the reflexive pronoun that goes before each form.
Present indicative
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | critico |
| tú | criticas |
| él/ella/Ud. | critica |
| nosotros/as | criticamos |
| vosotros/as | criticáis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | critican |
Preterite
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | critiqué |
| tú | criticaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | criticó |
| nosotros/as | criticamos |
| vosotros/as | criticasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | criticaron |
Imperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | criticaba |
| tú | criticabas |
| él/ella/Ud. | criticaba |
| nosotros/as | criticábamos |
| vosotros/as | criticabais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | criticaban |
Future
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | criticaré |
| tú | criticarás |
| él/ella/Ud. | criticará |
| nosotros/as | criticaremos |
| vosotros/as | criticaréis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | criticarán |
Conditional
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | criticaría |
| tú | criticarías |
| él/ella/Ud. | criticaría |
| nosotros/as | criticaríamos |
| vosotros/as | criticaríais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | criticarían |
Present perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | he criticado |
| tú | has criticado |
| él/ella/Ud. | ha criticado |
| nosotros/as | hemos criticado |
| vosotros/as | habéis criticado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | han criticado |
Pluperfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | había criticado |
| tú | habías criticado |
| él/ella/Ud. | había criticado |
| nosotros/as | habíamos criticado |
| vosotros/as | habíais criticado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habían criticado |
Future perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habré criticado |
| tú | habrás criticado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habrá criticado |
| nosotros/as | habremos criticado |
| vosotros/as | habréis criticado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrán criticado |
Conditional perfect
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | habría criticado |
| tú | habrías criticado |
| él/ella/Ud. | habría criticado |
| nosotros/as | habríamos criticado |
| vosotros/as | habríais criticado |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | habrían criticado |
Present subjunctive
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | critique |
| tú | critiques |
| él/ella/Ud. | critique |
| nosotros/as | critiquemos |
| vosotros/as | critiquéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | critiquen |
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | criticara |
| tú | criticaras |
| él/ella/Ud. | criticara |
| nosotros/as | criticáramos |
| vosotros/as | criticarais |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | criticaran |
Imperative (affirmative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | critica |
| él/ella/Ud. | critique |
| nosotros/as | critiquemos |
| vosotros/as | criticad |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | critiquen |
Imperative (negative)
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| tú | critiques |
| él/ella/Ud. | critique |
| nosotros/as | critiquemos |
| vosotros/as | critiquéis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | critiquen |
Gerund and past participle
| Form | Spanish | Use |
|---|---|---|
| Gerund | criticando | with estar for the progressive: estoy criticando |
| Past participle | criticado | with haber for the perfect tenses: he criticado |
How to use each tense
Present indicative
Use the present for routines, general facts and what is happening right now. Note the spelling change here: c becomes qu before e, so the forms keep the same sound as the infinitive. For criticar, the present looks like this in a real sentence: Critico la película en su blog. Learn the present forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Preterite
Use the preterite for finished actions with a clear end, often with ayer, el año pasado or anoche. Note the spelling change in the first person: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite first person is critiqué. For criticar, the preterite looks like this in a real sentence: Ayer, critiqué al gobierno en el debate. Learn the preterite forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect
Use the imperfect for background, habits and actions in progress in the past, often with de niño, antes or mientras. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For criticar, the imperfect looks like this in a real sentence: De niño, criticaba el trabajo de su compañero. Learn the imperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future
Use the future for plans, predictions and promises, often with mañana, el año que viene or pronto. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For criticar, the future looks like this in a real sentence: Mañana, criticaré la comida del restaurante. Learn the future forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional
Use the conditional for polite requests, hypotheticals and what would happen, often with si clauses. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For criticar, the conditional looks like this in a real sentence: Criticaría la película en su blog si pudiera. Learn the conditional forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present perfect
Use the present perfect for recent actions and experiences, often with hoy, esta semana or ya. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For criticar, the present perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Hoy, he criticado al gobierno en el debate. Learn the present perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Pluperfect
Use the pluperfect when one past action happened before another past action. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For criticar, the pluperfect looks like this in a real sentence: Había criticado el trabajo de su compañero antes de salir. Learn the pluperfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Future perfect
Use the future perfect for something that will already be finished by a future time. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For criticar, the future perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Para mañana, habré criticado la comida del restaurante. Learn the future perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Conditional perfect
Use the conditional perfect for what would have happened under different conditions. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For criticar, the conditional perfect looks like this in a real sentence: Habría criticado la película en su blog con más tiempo. Learn the conditional perfect forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Present subjunctive
Use the present subjunctive after expressions of wish, doubt, emotion and hope, such as espero que or quiero que. Note the spelling change here: c becomes qu before e, so the forms keep the same sound as the infinitive. For criticar, the present subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Espero que él critique al gobierno en el debate. Learn the present subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperfect subjunctive (-ra)
Use the imperfect subjunctive after past wishes and in si clauses about the past, and note the -ra forms shown here; the -se forms use the same stem. For this verb the tense is regular, so the forms follow the standard endings for its verb class. For criticar, the imperfect subjunctive looks like this in a real sentence: Si él criticara el trabajo de su compañero, todo cambiaría. Learn the imperfect subjunctive forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (affirmative)
Use the affirmative imperative for direct commands, instructions and invitations. Note the spelling change here: c becomes qu before e, so the forms keep the same sound as the infinitive. For criticar, the affirmative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: ¡Critica la comida del restaurante! Learn the affirmative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Imperative (negative)
Use the negative imperative, always with no, to tell someone not to do something. Note the spelling change here: c becomes qu before e, so the forms keep the same sound as the infinitive. For criticar, the negative imperative looks like this in a real sentence: No critiques la película en su blog. Learn the negative imperative forms in the table above alongside this example, and notice how the ending, not the stem, usually carries the meaning of the tense.
Example sentences
Ten natural sentences with criticar, covering different tenses and persons. Each one uses a form from the tables above.
- Critico la película en su blog. — I criticise the film on his blog.
- Critica al gobierno en el debate. — He/she criticises the government in the debate.
- Ayer, critiqué el trabajo de su compañero. — Yesterday, I criticised his colleague's work.
- Antes, nosotros criticábamos la comida del restaurante. — Before, we used to criticise the restaurant's food.
- Mañana, tú criticarás la película en su blog. — Tomorrow, you will criticise the film on his blog.
- Yo criticaría al gobierno en el debate si tuviera más tiempo. — I would criticise the government in the debate if I had more time.
- Él ha criticado el trabajo de su compañero. — He has criticised his colleague's work.
- Espero que él critique la comida del restaurante. — I hope he criticises the restaurant's food.
- Yo ya había criticado la película en su blog antes de salir. — I had already criticised the film on his blog before leaving.
- Ellos criticaban al gobierno en el debate cuando eran jóvenes. — They used to criticise the government in the debate when they were young.
Common mistakes
- Wrong: Yo critica la película en su blog. — Right: Yo critico la película en su blog. — The person matters: critica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is critico. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
- Wrong: Yo criticé al gobierno en el debate. — Right: Yo critiqué al gobierno en el debate. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is critiqué, not criticé. criticar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
- Wrong: Treating criticar and alabar as identical in every context. — Right: Criticar means to criticise, while alabar means to praise, its opposite. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: criticar fits sentences such as Critico la película en su blog, while alabar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
- Wrong: Yo soy criticado al gobierno en el debate. — Right: Yo he criticado al gobierno en el debate. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he criticado, has criticado, ha criticado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
- Wrong: De niño, yo critiqué el trabajo de su compañero todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo criticaba el trabajo de su compañero todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (criticaba), not the preterite. The preterite (critiqué) is for one finished action.
Quiz: test yourself
Ten questions on criticar. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la película en su blog. (present tense) A. critico B. criticas C. critica D. criticamos
Complete the sentence: Ayer, él ___ al gobierno en el debate. (preterite) A. critiqué B. criticaste C. criticaron D. criticó
Complete the sentence: Antes, nosotros ___ el trabajo de su compañero. (imperfect) A. criticabas B. criticaban C. criticábamos D. criticaba
Complete the sentence: Mañana, tú ___ la comida del restaurante. (future) A. criticaremos B. criticarás C. criticaré D. criticará
Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la película en su blog si pudiera. (conditional) A. criticaría B. criticarías C. criticarían D. critico
Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ al gobierno en el debate. (present subjunctive) A. critiques B. critiquemos C. critico D. critique
Complete the sentence: Si yo ___ el trabajo de su compañero, todo cambiaría. (imperfect subjunctive, -ra form) A. criticáramos B. critico C. criticara D. criticaras
Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ la comida del restaurante. (present perfect) A. han criticado B. hemos criticado C. he criticado D. has criticado
Complete the command: ¡___ la película en su blog! (affirmative imperative, tú) A. critica B. critique C. critiquemos D. criticad
Which is the gerund of criticar, used with estar for the progressive? A. criticado B. critico C. critiqué D. criticando
Answer key
- critico — The first-person present of criticar is critico. The other options are the tú, él/ella and nosotros forms.
- criticó — The third-person preterite of criticar is criticó, the form for a single finished action in the past.
- criticábamos — The nosotros imperfect of criticar is criticábamos, used here for a repeated past habit.
- criticarás — The second-person future of criticar is criticarás.
- criticaría — The first-person conditional of criticar is criticaría, the form for what would happen.
- critique — After espero que, the subjunctive is required: the third-person present subjunctive of criticar is critique.
- criticara — The first-person imperfect subjunctive (-ra) of criticar is criticara.
- hemos criticado — The nosotros present perfect of criticar is hemos criticado: hemos + criticado.
- critica — The affirmative tú imperative of criticar is critica.
- criticando — The gerund of criticar is criticando: estoy criticando. The participle criticado is used with haber instead.
Frequently asked questions
What does criticar mean in English?
Criticar means to criticise. It is used in everyday situations such as Critico la película en su blog. The exact English wording depends on the context, but the core meaning stays the same across the tenses.
Is criticar regular or irregular?
Criticar is a fully regular -ar verb, so every tense follows the standard endings for its class. Once you know the regular pattern, you can produce every form on this page, including critico in the present and critiqué in the preterite.
What is the difference between criticar and alabar?
Criticar means to criticise, while alabar means to praise, its opposite. They are easy to confuse because they appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use criticar when you mean to criticise, as in Critico la película en su blog, and use alabar for to praise, its opposite. When in doubt, check the object of the sentence — it usually shows which verb fits.
How do I say “I criticise” in the past?
It depends on the kind of past. For one finished action, use the preterite: yo critiqué al gobierno en el debate. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: yo criticaba el trabajo de su compañero. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: yo he criticado al gobierno en el debate.
How do I practise criticar?
Start with the present tense table, then drill the preterite and the imperfect, since those two past tenses cause the most mistakes. Try the criticar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure.
Related links
- Criticar in the present tense — the full present-tense table for criticar.
- Criticar examples and quiz — more example sentences and practice for criticar.
- Spanish verbs — the Spanish hub, with every verb and tense guide.
- Comunicar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with criticar.
- Practicar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with criticar.
- Fabricar conjugation — another -ar verb to compare with criticar.
- Spanish Verb Conjugator — conjugate any Spanish verb in every tense.
- Spanish Verb Quiz — test yourself on real conjugated forms.