Exigir Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

exigir means to demand, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Exigir means to demand, and it is used for demanding an answer, demanding payment, demanding respect and demanding too much of someone. It is stronger than pedir, and it is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes j before o and a, as in exijo and exija. This page puts exigir to work: twelve example sentences in different tenses and persons, grouped by use, then two short dialogues where the verb appears naturally, then the common mistakes to avoid, and finally a ten-question quiz with explained answers. Every Spanish form on this page comes from the verified conjugation tables for exigir, and the full tables are on the exigir conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata. — I demand an immediate answer.
  2. Él exige el pago antes del viernes. — He/she demands payment before Friday.
  3. Ayer, yo exigí respeto en el trabajo. — Yesterday, I demanded respect at work.
  4. Antes, nosotros exigíamos demasiado a sus alumnos. — Before, we used to demand too much of her students.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú exigirás una respuesta inmediata. — Tomorrow, you will demand an immediate answer.
  2. Yo exigiría el pago antes del viernes. — I would demand payment before Friday.
  3. Él ha exigido respeto en el trabajo. — He/she has demanded respect at work.
  4. Espero que él exija demasiado a sus alumnos. — I hope he/she demands too much of her students.

With other people

  1. Nosotros exigimos una respuesta inmediata. — We demand an immediate answer.
  2. Vosotros exigís el pago antes del viernes. — You all demand payment before Friday.
  3. Antes, ellos exigían respeto en el trabajo. — Before, they used to demand respect at work.
  4. Mañana, él exigirá demasiado a sus alumnos. — Tomorrow, he/she will demand too much of her students.

Exigir in context

Two short dialogues that use exigir the way people really use it. Read them aloud — the verb forms will stick much faster in a conversation than in a table.

Dialogue 1: today and yesterday

  • Ana: "Hola, ¿qué tal?" — "Hello, how are you?"
  • Luis: "Hoy exijo una respuesta inmediata." — "Today I demand an immediate answer."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, exigí respeto en el trabajo." — "Yesterday I demanded respect at work."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú exigirás el pago antes del viernes?" — "And tomorrow, will you will demand payment before Friday?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros exigimos demasiado a sus alumnos." — "Tomorrow we demand too much of her students."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo exigiría el pago antes del viernes si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would demand payment before Friday if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él exija una respuesta inmediata." — "I hope he demands an immediate answer."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha exigido respeto en el trabajo." — "Surely. He has already has demanded respect at work."
  • Marta: "Vale, nos vemos mañana." — "OK, see you tomorrow."

Notice how the same verb changes with the tense: the present for the plan, the conditional for the wish, the subjunctive after espero que, and the present perfect for what has already happened. That is the whole point of learning a verb across its tenses, not just in one form.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo exige una respuesta inmediata. — Right: Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata. — The person matters: exige is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is exijo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo exigo el pago antes del viernes. — Right: Yo exijo el pago antes del viernes. — In the present, the correct first-person form is exijo, not exigo. exigir is a spelling-change verb: g becomes j before o and a, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating exigir and pedir as identical in every context. — Right: Exigir means to demand, while pedir means to ask for, the lighter verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: exigir fits sentences such as Exijo una respuesta inmediata, while pedir belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy exigido el pago antes del viernes. — Right: Yo he exigido el pago antes del viernes. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he exigido, has exigido, ha exigido. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo exigí respeto en el trabajo todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo exigía respeto en el trabajo todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (exigía), not the preterite. The preterite (exigí) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on exigir: four on the forms, three on the meaning, and three on spotting the correct sentence. Check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ una respuesta inmediata. (present tense) A. exijo B. exiges C. exige D. exigimos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el pago antes del viernes. (preterite tense) A. exigí B. exigiste C. exigimos D. exigió

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ respeto en el trabajo. (future tense) A. exigirá B. exigiremos C. exigirás D. exigiré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ demasiado a sus alumnos. (imperfect tense) A. exigíais B. exigíamos C. exigía D. exigías

  5. What does "Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata." mean in English? A. I demand an immediate answer. B. I demand payment before Friday. C. I demand respect at work. D. I demand too much of her students.

  6. What does "Él exigió el pago antes del viernes." mean in English? A. He/she demanded an immediate answer. B. He/she demanded respect at work. C. He/she demanded too much of her students. D. He/she demanded payment before Friday.

  7. What does "Nosotros exigiremos respeto en el trabajo." mean in English? A. We will demand payment before Friday. B. We will demand too much of her students. C. We will demand respect at work. D. We will demand an immediate answer.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo exigo el pago antes del viernes. B. Yo exige el pago antes del viernes. C. Yo exijo el pago antes del viernes.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él exigí respeto en el trabajo. B. Él exigió respeto en el trabajo. C. Él exigieron respeto en el trabajo.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo exija demasiado a sus alumnos. B. Yo exiga demasiado a sus alumnos. C. Yo exija demasiado a sus alumnos.

Answer key

  1. exijo — The yo present form of exigir is exijo.
  2. exigió — The el preterite form of exigir is exigió.
  3. exigirás — The tu future form of exigir is exigirás.
  4. exigíamos — The nosotros imperfect form of exigir is exigíamos.
  5. I demand an immediate answer. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form exijo, so the English is "I demand an immediate answer." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she demanded payment before Friday. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form exigió, so the English is "He/she demanded payment before Friday." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will demand respect at work. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form exigiremos, so the English is "We will demand respect at work." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo exijo el pago antes del viernes. — The correct sentence is "Yo exijo el pago antes del viernes." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él exigió respeto en el trabajo. — The correct sentence is "Él exigió respeto en el trabajo." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo exija demasiado a sus alumnos. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo exija demasiado a sus alumnos." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

What does exigir mean, and when do I use it?

Exigir means to demand. Exigir means to demand, and it is used for demanding an answer, demanding payment, demanding respect and demanding too much of someone. It is stronger than pedir, and it is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes j before o and a, as in exijo and exija. A good first sentence to remember is Yo exijo una respuesta inmediata. — "I demand an immediate answer."

What is the difference between exigir and pedir?

Exigir means to demand, while pedir means to ask for, the lighter verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use exigir when you mean to demand, as in Yo exijo el pago antes del viernes., and use pedir for to ask for, the lighter verb.

How do I say "I demand" in the past?

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo exigí el pago antes del viernes.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo exigía respeto en el trabajo.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he exigido el pago antes del viernes..

How do I practise exigir?

Start with the exigir conjugation page for the full tables, then the exigir in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: g becomes j before o and a, so yo exijo and the subjunctive exija. Never write exigo.

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