Juzgar Present Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The present tense of juzgar — "to judge" 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 juzgar 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. 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. To see it in a real sentence: Él juzga al acusado en el juicio. — "He/she judges the accused at the trial." 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: juzgar

Every person of juzgar in the present tense. The gerund is juzgando and the past participle is juzgado.

Present indicative

Person Form
yo juzgo
tú juzgas
él/ella/Ud. juzga
nosotros/as juzgamos
vosotros/as juzgáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. juzgan

How the present indicative of juzgar is formed

The present indicative of juzgar is built from the stem juzg- 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 juzgo
tú -as juzgas
él/ella/Ud. -a juzga
nosotros/as -amos juzgamos
vosotros/as -áis juzgáis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -an juzgan

juzgar is a spelling-change verb: g becomes gu 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 juzgo in particular.

The gerund of juzgar is juzgando and the past participle is juzgado. 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 juzgar

The present tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and juzgar 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 juzgar, this use looks like this: "Yo juzgo al acusado en el juicio." — "I judge the accused at the trial." 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 juzgar, this use looks like this: "Él juzga a la gente por su aspecto." — "He/she judges people by their appearance." 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 juzgar, this use looks like this: "Nosotros juzgamos el concurso de cocina." — "We judge the cooking competition." 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 juzgar, this use looks like this: "Ellos juzgan el partido como árbitro." — "They judge the match as a referee." 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 juzgar, this use looks like this: "Tú juzgas al acusado en el juicio." — "You judge the accused at the trial." 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 juzgar. 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 juzgo al acusado en el juicio." — "I judge the accused at the trial."
  • Preterite: "Yo juzgué al acusado en el juicio." — "I judged the accused at the trial." 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 juzga a la gente por su aspecto." — "He/she judges people by their appearance."
  • Preterite: "Él juzgó a la gente por su aspecto." — "He/she judged people by their appearance." 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 juzgamos el concurso de cocina." — "We judge the cooking competition."
  • Preterite: "Nosotros juzgamos el concurso de cocina." — "We judged the cooking competition." 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 juzgar in the present tense only. Each one uses a form from the table above.

  1. Yo juzgo al acusado en el juicio. — I judge the accused at the trial.
  2. Tú juzgas a la gente por su aspecto. — You judge people by their appearance.
  3. Él juzga el concurso de cocina. — He/she judges the cooking competition.
  4. Nosotros juzgamos el partido como árbitro. — We judge the match as a referee.
  5. Vosotros juzgáis al acusado en el juicio. — You all judge the accused at the trial.
  6. Ellos juzgan a la gente por su aspecto. — They judge people by their appearance.
  7. Yo juzgo el concurso de cocina. — I judge the cooking competition.
  8. Él juzga el partido como árbitro. — He/she judges the match as a referee.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Vosotros juzgais a la gente por su aspecto. — Right: Vosotros juzgáis a la gente por su aspecto. — The vosotros present form carries a written accent: juzgáis, not juzgais.
  2. Wrong: Ayer, yo juzgo el concurso de cocina. — Right: Ayer, yo juzgué el concurso de cocina. — Ayer means yesterday, so it needs the preterite (juzgué), not the present (juzgo). The present is for now, not for yesterday.
  3. 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.
  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. Ser plus the participle makes a passive, not a perfect tense.

Quiz: test yourself

Eight questions on the present tense of juzgar. Choose the right form, then 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: Tú ___ a la gente por su aspecto. (present tense) A. juzgas B. juzgo C. juzga D. juzgamos

  3. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el concurso de cocina. (present tense) A. juzga B. juzgo C. juzgas D. juzgamos

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros ___ el partido como árbitro. (present tense) A. juzgamos B. juzgo C. juzgas D. juzga

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros ___ al acusado en el juicio. (present tense) A. juzgáis B. juzgo C. juzgas D. juzga

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos ___ a la gente por su aspecto. (present tense) A. juzgan B. juzgo C. juzgas D. juzga

  7. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ el concurso de cocina. (present tense) A. juzgo B. juzgas C. juzga D. juzgamos

  8. Complete the sentence: Él ___ el partido como árbitro. (present tense) A. juzga B. juzgo C. juzgas D. juzgamos

Answer key

  1. juzgo — The yo present form of juzgar is juzgo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  2. juzgas — The tu present form of juzgar is juzgas. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  3. juzga — The el present form of juzgar is juzga. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  4. juzgamos — The nosotros present form of juzgar is juzgamos. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  5. juzgáis — The vosotros present form of juzgar is juzgáis. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  6. juzgan — The ellos present form of juzgar is juzgan. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  7. juzgo — The yo present form of juzgar is juzgo. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.
  8. juzga — The el present form of juzgar is juzga. The other options are the other persons of the same tense.

Frequently asked questions

When do I use the present tense of juzgar?

Use the present tense of juzgar for habits, facts and what is happening now. For example: Yo juzgo al acusado en el juicio. — "I judge the accused at the trial." The usage rules above give five situations with examples.

How is the present tense of juzgar formed?

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

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

The present describes a habit or a present fact, while the preterite describes a finished action. Compare Yo juzgo a la gente por su aspecto. with Yo juzgué a la gente por su aspecto. — the verb is the same, but the time meaning changes.

How do I practise the present tense of juzgar?

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

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