Jurar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

jurar means to swear, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Jurar means to swear, and it covers swearing to tell the truth in court, swearing loyalty and swearing an oath. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is stronger than prometer, which is a simple promise. This page puts jurar 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 jurar, and the full tables are on the jurar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo juro decir la verdad ante el juez. — I swear to tell the truth before the judge.
  2. Él jura lealtad a su país. — He/she swears loyalty to his country.
  3. Ayer, yo juré por su madre que era inocente. — Yesterday, I swore by his mother that he was innocent.
  4. Antes, nosotros jurábamos no volver a mentir. — Before, we used to swear never to lie again.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú jurarás decir la verdad ante el juez. — Tomorrow, you will swear to tell the truth before the judge.
  2. Yo juraría lealtad a su país. — I would swear loyalty to his country.
  3. Él ha jurado por su madre que era inocente. — He/she has sworn by his mother that he was innocent.
  4. Espero que él jure no volver a mentir. — I hope he/she swears never to lie again.

With other people

  1. Nosotros juramos decir la verdad ante el juez. — We swear to tell the truth before the judge.
  2. Vosotros juráis lealtad a su país. — You all swear loyalty to his country.
  3. Antes, ellos juraban por su madre que era inocente. — Before, they used to swear by his mother that he was innocent.
  4. Mañana, él jurará no volver a mentir. — Tomorrow, he/she will swear never to lie again.

Jurar in context

Two short dialogues that use jurar 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 juro decir la verdad ante el juez." — "Today I swear to tell the truth before the judge."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, juré por su madre que era inocente." — "Yesterday I swore by his mother that he was innocent."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú jurarás lealtad a su país?" — "And tomorrow, will you will swear loyalty to his country?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros juramos no volver a mentir." — "Tomorrow we swear never to lie again."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo juraría lealtad a su país si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would swear loyalty to his country if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él jure decir la verdad ante el juez." — "I hope he swears to tell the truth before the judge."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha jurado por su madre que era inocente." — "Surely. He has already has sworn by his mother that he was innocent."
  • 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 jura decir la verdad ante el juez. — Right: Yo juro decir la verdad ante el juez. — The person matters: jura is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is juro. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Vosotros jurais lealtad a su país. — Right: Vosotros juráis lealtad a su país. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: juráis, not jurais. The accent marks the stressed vowel.
  3. Wrong: Treating jurar and prometer as identical in every context. — Right: Jurar means to swear, while prometer means to promise, the close verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: jurar fits sentences such as Juro decir la verdad ante el juez, while prometer belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy jurado lealtad a su país. — Right: Yo he jurado lealtad a su país. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he jurado, has jurado, ha jurado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo juré por su madre que era inocente todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo juraba por su madre que era inocente todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (juraba), not the preterite. The preterite (juré) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on jurar: 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 ___ decir la verdad ante el juez. (present tense) A. juro B. juras C. jura D. juramos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ lealtad a su país. (preterite tense) A. juré B. juraste C. juramos D. juró

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ por su madre que era inocente. (future tense) A. jurará B. juraremos C. jurarás D. juraré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ no volver a mentir. (imperfect tense) A. jurabais B. jurábamos C. juraba D. jurabas

  5. What does "Yo juro decir la verdad ante el juez." mean in English? A. I swear to tell the truth before the judge. B. I swear loyalty to his country. C. I swear by his mother that he was innocent. D. I swear never to lie again.

  6. What does "Él juró lealtad a su país." mean in English? A. He/she swore to tell the truth before the judge. B. He/she swore by his mother that he was innocent. C. He/she swore never to lie again. D. He/she swore loyalty to his country.

  7. What does "Nosotros juraremos por su madre que era inocente." mean in English? A. We will swear loyalty to his country. B. We will swear never to lie again. C. We will swear by his mother that he was innocent. D. We will swear to tell the truth before the judge.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo juran lealtad a su país. B. Yo jura lealtad a su país. C. Yo juro lealtad a su país.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él juré por su madre que era inocente. B. Él juró por su madre que era inocente. C. Él juraron por su madre que era inocente.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo jure no volver a mentir. B. Yo juren no volver a mentir. C. Yo jure no volver a mentir.

Answer key

  1. juro — The yo present form of jurar is juro.
  2. juró — The el preterite form of jurar is juró.
  3. jurarás — The tu future form of jurar is jurarás.
  4. jurábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of jurar is jurábamos.
  5. I swear to tell the truth before the judge. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form juro, so the English is "I swear to tell the truth before the judge." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she swore loyalty to his country. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form juró, so the English is "He/she swore loyalty to his country." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will swear by his mother that he was innocent. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form juraremos, so the English is "We will swear by his mother that he was innocent." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo juro lealtad a su país. — The correct sentence is "Yo juro lealtad a su país." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él juró por su madre que era inocente. — The correct sentence is "Él juró por su madre que era inocente." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo jure no volver a mentir. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo jure no volver a mentir." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Jurar means to swear. Jurar means to swear, and it covers swearing to tell the truth in court, swearing loyalty and swearing an oath. It is a fully regular -ar verb, and it is stronger than prometer, which is a simple promise. A good first sentence to remember is Yo juro decir la verdad ante el juez. — "I swear to tell the truth before the judge."

What is the difference between jurar and prometer?

Jurar means to swear, while prometer means to promise, the close verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use jurar when you mean to swear, as in Yo juro lealtad a su país., and use prometer for to promise, the close verb.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo juré lealtad a su país.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo juraba por su madre que era inocente.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he jurado lealtad a su país..

How do I practise jurar?

Start with the jurar conjugation page for the full tables, then the jurar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Jurar is fully regular: juré, juraba, juraré. Jurar por algo is to swear by something, such as by your mother.

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