Justificar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

justificar means to justify, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Justificar means to justify, and it is used for justifying an absence with a certificate, justifying an expense and justifying a decision in a report. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. This page puts justificar 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 justificar, and the full tables are on the justificar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo justifico su ausencia con un certificado. — I justify his absence with a certificate.
  2. Él justifica el gasto ante el jefe. — He/she justifies the expense to the boss.
  3. Ayer, yo justifiqué la decisión en el informe. — Yesterday, I justified the decision in the report.
  4. Antes, nosotros justificábamos su retraso por el tráfico. — Before, we used to justify his delay because of the traffic.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú justificarás su ausencia con un certificado. — Tomorrow, you will justify his absence with a certificate.
  2. Yo justificaría el gasto ante el jefe. — I would justify the expense to the boss.
  3. Él ha justificado la decisión en el informe. — He/she has justified the decision in the report.
  4. Espero que él justifique su retraso por el tráfico. — I hope he/she justifies his delay because of the traffic.

With other people

  1. Nosotros justificamos su ausencia con un certificado. — We justify his absence with a certificate.
  2. Vosotros justificáis el gasto ante el jefe. — You all justify the expense to the boss.
  3. Antes, ellos justificaban la decisión en el informe. — Before, they used to justify the decision in the report.
  4. Mañana, él justificará su retraso por el tráfico. — Tomorrow, he/she will justify his delay because of the traffic.

Justificar in context

Two short dialogues that use justificar 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 justifico su ausencia con un certificado." — "Today I justify his absence with a certificate."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, justifiqué la decisión en el informe." — "Yesterday I justified the decision in the report."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú justificarás el gasto ante el jefe?" — "And tomorrow, will you will justify the expense to the boss?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros justificamos su retraso por el tráfico." — "Tomorrow we justify his delay because of the traffic."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo justificaría el gasto ante el jefe si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would justify the expense to the boss if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él justifique su ausencia con un certificado." — "I hope he justifies his absence with a certificate."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha justificado la decisión en el informe." — "Surely. He has already has justified the decision in the report."
  • 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 justifica su ausencia con un certificado. — Right: Yo justifico su ausencia con un certificado. — The person matters: justifica is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is justifico. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo justificé el gasto ante el jefe. — Right: Yo justifiqué el gasto ante el jefe. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is justifiqué, not justificé. justificar 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.
  3. Wrong: Treating justificar and explicar as identical in every context. — Right: Justificar means to justify, while explicar means to explain, the close verb. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: justificar fits sentences such as Justifico su ausencia con un certificado, while explicar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy justificado el gasto ante el jefe. — Right: Yo he justificado el gasto ante el jefe. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he justificado, has justificado, ha justificado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo justifiqué la decisión en el informe todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo justificaba la decisión en el informe todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (justificaba), not the preterite. The preterite (justifiqué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on justificar: 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 ___ su ausencia con un certificado. (present tense) A. justifico B. justificas C. justifica D. justificamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el gasto ante el jefe. (preterite tense) A. justifiqué B. justificaste C. justificamos D. justificó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ la decisión en el informe. (future tense) A. justificará B. justificaremos C. justificarás D. justificaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ su retraso por el tráfico. (imperfect tense) A. justificabais B. justificábamos C. justificaba D. justificabas

  5. What does "Yo justifico su ausencia con un certificado." mean in English? A. I justify his absence with a certificate. B. I justify the expense to the boss. C. I justify the decision in the report. D. I justify his delay because of the traffic.

  6. What does "Él justificó el gasto ante el jefe." mean in English? A. He/she justified his absence with a certificate. B. He/she justified the decision in the report. C. He/she justified his delay because of the traffic. D. He/she justified the expense to the boss.

  7. What does "Nosotros justificaremos la decisión en el informe." mean in English? A. We will justify the expense to the boss. B. We will justify his delay because of the traffic. C. We will justify the decision in the report. D. We will justify his absence with a certificate.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo justifican el gasto ante el jefe. B. Yo justifica el gasto ante el jefe. C. Yo justifico el gasto ante el jefe.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él justifiqué la decisión en el informe. B. Él justificó la decisión en el informe. C. Él justificaron la decisión en el informe.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo justifique su retraso por el tráfico. B. Yo justifice su retraso por el tráfico. C. Yo justifique su retraso por el tráfico.

Answer key

  1. justifico — The yo present form of justificar is justifico.
  2. justificó — The el preterite form of justificar is justificó.
  3. justificarás — The tu future form of justificar is justificarás.
  4. justificábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of justificar is justificábamos.
  5. I justify his absence with a certificate. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form justifico, so the English is "I justify his absence with a certificate." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she justified the expense to the boss. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form justificó, so the English is "He/she justified the expense to the boss." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will justify the decision in the report. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form justificaremos, so the English is "We will justify the decision in the report." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo justifico el gasto ante el jefe. — The correct sentence is "Yo justifico el gasto ante el jefe." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él justificó la decisión en el informe. — The correct sentence is "Él justificó la decisión en el informe." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo justifique su retraso por el tráfico. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo justifique su retraso por el tráfico." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Justificar means to justify. Justificar means to justify, and it is used for justifying an absence with a certificate, justifying an expense and justifying a decision in a report. It is a spelling-change verb: the c becomes qu before e. A good first sentence to remember is Yo justifico su ausencia con un certificado. — "I justify his absence with a certificate."

What is the difference between justificar and explicar?

Justificar means to justify, while explicar means to explain, the close verb. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use justificar when you mean to justify, as in Yo justifico el gasto ante el jefe., and use explicar for to explain, the close verb.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo justifiqué el gasto ante el jefe.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo justificaba la decisión en el informe.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he justificado el gasto ante el jefe..

How do I practise justificar?

Start with the justificar conjugation page for the full tables, then the justificar in the present tense page for the tense in focus, and use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test the forms under pressure. Spelling change: c becomes qu before e, so the preterite is justifiqué and the subjunctive is justifique.

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