Juzgar Examples, Sentences and Quiz in Spanish

juzgar means to judge, and it is a verb you will meet in everyday Spanish again and again. Juzgar means to judge, and it covers judging the accused at a trial, judging people by their appearance, judging a cooking competition and refereeing a match. It is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e, so the preterite is juzgué. This page puts juzgar 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 juzgar, and the full tables are on the juzgar conjugation page if you need to check a form.

Example sentences

Everyday uses

  1. Yo juzgo al acusado en el juicio. — I judge the accused at the trial.
  2. Él juzga a la gente por su aspecto. — He/she judges people by their appearance.
  3. Ayer, yo juzgué el concurso de cocina. — Yesterday, I judged the cooking competition.
  4. Antes, nosotros juzgábamos el partido como árbitro. — Before, we used to judge the match as a referee.

In other tenses

  1. Mañana, tú juzgarás al acusado en el juicio. — Tomorrow, you will judge the accused at the trial.
  2. Yo juzgaría a la gente por su aspecto. — I would judge people by their appearance.
  3. Él ha juzgado el concurso de cocina. — He/she has judged the cooking competition.
  4. Espero que él juzgue el partido como árbitro. — I hope he/she judges the match as a referee.

With other people

  1. Nosotros juzgamos al acusado en el juicio. — We judge the accused at the trial.
  2. Vosotros juzgáis a la gente por su aspecto. — You all judge people by their appearance.
  3. Antes, ellos juzgaban el concurso de cocina. — Before, they used to judge the cooking competition.
  4. Mañana, él juzgará el partido como árbitro. — Tomorrow, he/she will judge the match as a referee.

Juzgar in context

Two short dialogues that use juzgar 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 juzgo al acusado en el juicio." — "Today I judge the accused at the trial."
  • Ana: "¿Y ayer?" — "And yesterday?"
  • Luis: "Ayer, juzgué el concurso de cocina." — "Yesterday I judged the cooking competition."
  • Ana: "¿Y mañana, tú juzgarás a la gente por su aspecto?" — "And tomorrow, will you will judge people by their appearance?"
  • Luis: "Sí, claro. Y tú también." — "Yes, of course. And you too."

Dialogue 2: making plans

  • Marta: "Mañana, nosotros juzgamos el partido como árbitro." — "Tomorrow we judge the match as a referee."
  • Carlos: "Perfecto. Yo juzgaría a la gente por su aspecto si tuviera más tiempo." — "Perfect. I would would judge people by their appearance if I had more time."
  • Marta: "Espero que él juzgue al acusado en el juicio." — "I hope he judges the accused at the trial."
  • Carlos: "Seguro que sí. Él ya ha juzgado el concurso de cocina." — "Surely. He has already has judged the cooking competition."
  • 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 juzga al acusado en el juicio. — Right: Yo juzgo al acusado en el juicio. — The person matters: juzga is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is juzgo. Using the third-person form with yo is one of the most common beginner errors.
  2. Wrong: Yo juzgé a la gente por su aspecto. — Right: Yo juzgué a la gente por su aspecto. — In the preterite, the correct first-person form is juzgué, not juzgé. juzgar is a spelling-change verb: g becomes gu before e, so the written form changes to keep the same sound. The regular-looking form is wrong.
  3. Wrong: Treating juzgar and evaluar as identical in every context. — Right: Juzgar means to judge, while evaluar means to evaluate, the formal partner. — They overlap, but each has uses the other does not: juzgar fits sentences such as Juzgo al acusado en el juicio, while evaluar belongs in a different sentence. Check the meaning you want before choosing.
  4. Wrong: Yo soy juzgado a la gente por su aspecto. — Right: Yo he juzgado a la gente por su aspecto. — Spanish perfect tenses use haber, not ser: he juzgado, has juzgado, ha juzgado. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.
  5. Wrong: De niño, yo juzgué el concurso de cocina todos los días. — Right: De niño, yo juzgaba el concurso de cocina todos los días. — For a repeated habit in the past, use the imperfect (juzgaba), not the preterite. The preterite (juzgué) is for one finished action.

Quiz: test yourself

Ten questions on juzgar: 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 ___ al acusado en el juicio. (present tense) A. juzgo B. juzgas C. juzga D. juzgamos

  2. Complete the sentence: Él ___ a la gente por su aspecto. (preterite tense) A. juzgué B. juzgaste C. juzgamos D. juzgó

  3. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ el concurso de cocina. (future tense) A. juzgará B. juzgaremos C. juzgarás D. juzgaré

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el partido como árbitro. (imperfect tense) A. juzgabais B. juzgábamos C. juzgaba D. juzgabas

  5. What does "Yo juzgo al acusado en el juicio." mean in English? A. I judge the accused at the trial. B. I judge people by their appearance. C. I judge the cooking competition. D. I judge the match as a referee.

  6. What does "Él juzgó a la gente por su aspecto." mean in English? A. He/she judged the accused at the trial. B. He/she judged the cooking competition. C. He/she judged the match as a referee. D. He/she judged people by their appearance.

  7. What does "Nosotros juzgaremos el concurso de cocina." mean in English? A. We will judge people by their appearance. B. We will judge the match as a referee. C. We will judge the cooking competition. D. We will judge the accused at the trial.

  8. Which sentence is correct? A. Yo juzgan a la gente por su aspecto. B. Yo juzga a la gente por su aspecto. C. Yo juzgo a la gente por su aspecto.

  9. Which sentence is correct? A. Él juzgué el concurso de cocina. B. Él juzgó el concurso de cocina. C. Él juzgaron el concurso de cocina.

  10. Which sentence is correct? A. Espero que yo juzgue el partido como árbitro. B. Yo juzge el partido como árbitro. C. Yo juzgue el partido como árbitro.

Answer key

  1. juzgo — The yo present form of juzgar is juzgo.
  2. juzgó — The el preterite form of juzgar is juzgó.
  3. juzgarás — The tu future form of juzgar is juzgarás.
  4. juzgábamos — The nosotros imperfect form of juzgar is juzgábamos.
  5. I judge the accused at the trial. — The Spanish sentence uses the present form juzgo, so the English is "I judge the accused at the trial." The other options use a different object or situation.
  6. He/she judged people by their appearance. — The Spanish sentence uses the preterite form juzgó, so the English is "He/she judged people by their appearance." The other options use a different object or situation.
  7. We will judge the cooking competition. — The Spanish sentence uses the future form juzgaremos, so the English is "We will judge the cooking competition." The other options use a different object or situation.
  8. Yo juzgo a la gente por su aspecto. — The correct sentence is "Yo juzgo a la gente por su aspecto." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  9. Él juzgó el concurso de cocina. — The correct sentence is "Él juzgó el concurso de cocina." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.
  10. Espero que yo juzgue el partido como árbitro. — The correct sentence is "Espero que yo juzgue el partido como árbitro." The other sentences use the wrong form or the wrong person for the subject.

Frequently asked questions

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

Juzgar means to judge. Juzgar means to judge, and it covers judging the accused at a trial, judging people by their appearance, judging a cooking competition and refereeing a match. It is a spelling-change verb: the g becomes gu before e, so the preterite is juzgué. A good first sentence to remember is Yo juzgo al acusado en el juicio. — "I judge the accused at the trial."

What is the difference between juzgar and evaluar?

Juzgar means to judge, while evaluar means to evaluate, the formal partner. They appear in similar situations, but they are not interchangeable: use juzgar when you mean to judge, as in Yo juzgo a la gente por su aspecto., and use evaluar for to evaluate, the formal partner.

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

For one finished action, use the preterite: Yo juzgué a la gente por su aspecto.. For a repeated habit or background in the past, use the imperfect: Yo juzgaba el concurso de cocina.. For something that has just happened, use the present perfect: Yo he juzgado a la gente por su aspecto..

How do I practise juzgar?

Start with the juzgar conjugation page for the full tables, then the juzgar 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 gu before e, so the preterite is juzgué and the subjunctive is juzgue. No juzgues a la gente is a common piece of advice.

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