Justificar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of justificar — "to justify" 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 justificar 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. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Él justifica su ausencia con un certificado. — "He/she justifies his absence with a certificate." Work through the table below, then the formation notes, the usage rules and the contrast with the preterite, and test yourself at the end.

Present tense conjugation table: justificar

Every person of justificar in the present tense. The gerund is justificando and the past participle is justificado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo justifico
tú justificas
él/ella/Ud. justifica
nosotros/as justificamos
vosotros/as justificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. justifican

How the present indicative of justificar is formed

The present indicative of justificar is built from the stem justific- 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 justifico
tú -as justificas
él/ella/Ud. -a justifica
nosotros/as -amos justificamos
vosotros/as -áis justificáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an justifican

justificar is a spelling-change verb: c becomes qu before e. That is why the written form changes in some persons — the sound stays the same, and only the spelling adapts. In this tense, watch the first-person form justifico in particular.

The gerund of justificar is justificando and the past participle is justificado. Both are regular for this verb, and the participle is the form you need for all the perfect tenses with haber.

When to use the present tense of justificar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and justificar appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.

Habits and routines

The present tense describes things you do regularly. If you do it every day, every week or every morning, the present is the tense to use. For justificar, this use looks like this: "Yo justifico su ausencia con un certificado." — "I justify his absence with a certificate." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

General facts

The present tense states facts that are generally true, not tied to one moment. It is the tense for definitions and permanent situations. For justificar, this use looks like this: "Él justifica el gasto ante el jefe." — "He/she justifies the expense to the boss." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

What is happening now

The present tense also covers what is happening at this moment, especially with verbs that describe an action in progress. For justificar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros justificamos la decisión en el informe." — "We justify the decision in the report." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Timetables and schedules

The present tense is used for fixed plans and timetables, such as trains, classes and opening times, even when they refer to the future. For justificar, this use looks like this: "Ellos justifican su retraso por el tráfico." — "They justify his delay because of the traffic." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

Instructions and requests

The present tense appears in instructions and polite requests, where it sounds softer than a direct command. For justificar, this use looks like this: "Tú justificas su ausencia con un certificado." — "You justify his absence with a certificate." Notice how the present form carries the time meaning on its own, without any extra word for the tense.

The present tense vs the preterite

Learners often mix up the present and the preterite with justificar. The rule is simple: the present is for habits, facts and what is happening now, while the preterite is for one finished action in the past. The three pairs below show the same idea in both tenses, so you can feel the difference.

Pair 1: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Yo justifico su ausencia con un certificado." — "I justify his absence with a certificate."
  • Preterite: "Yo justifiqué su ausencia con un certificado." — "I justified his absence with a certificate." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 2: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Él justifica el gasto ante el jefe." — "He/she justifies the expense to the boss."
  • Preterite: "Él justificó el gasto ante el jefe." — "He/she justified the expense to the boss." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Pair 3: present vs preterite

  • Present: "Nosotros justificamos la decisión en el informe." — "We justify the decision in the report."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros justificamos la decisión en el informe." — "We justified the decision in the report." The first sentence uses the present because it describes a habit or a present fact; the second uses the preterite because it describes a finished action. The verb is the same — only the tense changes the meaning.

Example sentences in the present tense

Eight natural sentences with justificar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo justifico su ausencia con un certificado. — I justify his absence with a certificate.
  2. Tú justificas el gasto ante el jefe. — You justify the expense to the boss.
  3. Él justifica la decisión en el informe. — He/she justifies the decision in the report.
  4. Nosotros justificamos su retraso por el tráfico. — We justify his delay because of the traffic.
  5. Vosotros justificáis su ausencia con un certificado. — You all justify his absence with a certificate.
  6. Ellos justifican el gasto ante el jefe. — They justify the expense to the boss.
  7. Yo justifico la decisión en el informe. — I justify the decision in the report.
  8. Él justifica su retraso por el tráfico. — He/she justifies his delay because of the traffic.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros justificais el gasto ante el jefe. — Right: Vosotros justificáis el gasto ante el jefe. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: justificáis, not justificais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo justifico la decisión en el informe. — Right: Ayer, yo justifiqué la decisión en el informe. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (justifiqué), not the present (justifico). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. 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.
  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. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of justificar. Choose the right form, then 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: Tú ___ el gasto ante el jefe. (present tense) A. justificas B. justifico C. justifica D. justificamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ la decisión en el informe. (present tense) A. justifica B. justifico C. justificas D. justificamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ su retraso por el tráfico. (present tense) A. justificamos B. justifico C. justificas D. justifica

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ su ausencia con un certificado. (present tense) A. justificáis B. justifico C. justificas D. justifica

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ el gasto ante el jefe. (present tense) A. justifican B. justifico C. justificas D. justifica

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ la decisión en el informe. (present tense) A. justifico B. justificas C. justifica D. justificamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ su retraso por el tráfico. (present tense) A. justifica B. justifico C. justificas D. justificamos

Answer key

  1. justifico — The yo present form of justificar is justifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. justificas — The tu present form of justificar is justificas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. justifica — The el present form of justificar is justifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. justificamos — The nosotros present form of justificar is justificamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. justificáis — The vosotros present form of justificar is justificáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. justifican — The ellos present form of justificar is justifican. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. justifico — The yo present form of justificar is justifico. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. justifica — The el present form of justificar is justifica. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of justificar?

Use the present tense of justificar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo justifico su ausencia con un certificado. — "I justify his absence with a certificate." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of justificar formed?

Take the stem justific- and add the present endings for -ar verbs. The full table is at the top of this page. Remember the spelling change: c becomes qu before e.

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo justifico el gasto ante el jefe. with Yo justifiqué el gasto ante el jefe. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of justificar?

Drill the six forms in the table above until you can say them without looking, then use the justificar examples and quiz page for more sentences, and test yourself with the Justificar conjugation page for the full picture across all tenses.

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