Moralizar Examples, Sentences & Quiz in Spanish
moralizar means "to moralise" in English, and this page shows it in everyday use: real example sentences in several tenses, two short dialogues, the mistakes learners actually make, and a quiz to test yourself. You will see moralizar with young people with sermons, his pupils in class, life in the village and examples from history — the situations where Spanish speakers really use it. A good first sentence to learn is: Cada día, yo moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones. — "Every day, I moralise young people with sermons." Read the examples aloud, notice which tense each one uses, and then try the dialogues and the quiz.
moralizar in everyday sentences
Twelve sentences with moralizar, grouped by situation. Each one shows the verb in a different tense or person, with its English translation and a note on when to use that form.
Everyday use
- Cada día, yo moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones. — "Every day, I moralise young people with sermons." The present tense fits a habit here.
- Ayer, yo moralicé a sus alumnos en clase. — "Yesterday, I moralised his pupils in class." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, yo moralizaba sobre la vida en el pueblo. — "In the past, I used to moralise about life in the village." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, nosotros moralizaremos con ejemplos de la historia. — "Tomorrow, we will moralise with examples from history." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Si pudieras, tú moralizarías a los jóvenes con sermones. — "If you could, you would moralise young people with sermons." The conditional fits something that would happen.
- Yo he moralizado a sus alumnos en clase. — "I have moralised his pupils in class." The present perfect fits an action with present relevance.
More situations
- Normalmente, él moraliza sobre la vida en el pueblo. — "Normally, he/she moralises about life in the village." The present tense fits a general truth here.
- Ayer, él moralizó con ejemplos de la historia. — "Yesterday, he/she moralised with examples from history." The preterite fits one finished action.
- Antes, nosotros moralizábamos a los jóvenes con sermones. — "In the past, we used to moralise young people with sermons." The imperfect fits a repeated action in the past.
- Mañana, yo moralizaré a sus alumnos en clase. — "Tomorrow, I will moralise his pupils in class." The future tense fits a plan for tomorrow.
- Espero que él moralice sobre la vida en el pueblo. — "I hope that he/she moralises about life in the village." The present subjunctive follows espero que.
- ¡Moraliza con ejemplos de la historia! — "Moralise with examples from history!" The imperative fits a direct order or request.
The verb in context
Two short dialogues using moralizar naturally. Notice how the verb changes person and tense as the conversation moves, and how the complements stay the same kind of situation: young people with sermons, his pupils in class, life in the village and examples from history.
Dialogue 1: talking about young people with sermons
Sofía: ¿Tú moralizas a los jóvenes con sermones? — "Do you moralise young people with sermons?" Diego: Sí, yo moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones. — "I moralise young people with sermons." Sofía: ¿Y ayer? — "And yesterday?" Diego: Ayer, yo moralicé a sus alumnos en clase. — "Yesterday, I moralised his pupils in class." Sofía: Mañana, nosotros moralizaremos sobre la vida en el pueblo. — "Tomorrow, we will moralise about life in the village." Diego: Si pudiera, yo moralizaría con ejemplos de la historia. — "If I could, I would moralise with examples from history." Sofía: Antes, yo moralizaba a sus alumnos en clase. — "In the past, I used to moralise his pupils in class." Diego: Yo he moralizado a los jóvenes con sermones. — "I have moralised young people with sermons." Sofía: ¡Moraliza sobre la vida en el pueblo! — "Moralise about life in the village!"
In this dialogue moralizar appears in the present, the preterite, the imperfect, the future, the conditional and the present perfect. That is the point: one verb, many tenses, and the complement tells you which situation you are in. Try the same dialogue with your own complements.
Dialogue 2: talking about life in the village
Sofía: Él moraliza sobre la vida en el pueblo. — "he/she moralises about life in the village." Diego: ¿De verdad? ¿Él moraliza sobre la vida en el pueblo todos los días? — "Really? Does he/she moralises about life in the village every day?" Sofía: Sí, y ellos moralizan con ejemplos de la historia. — "they moralise with examples from history." Diego: Ayer, ellos moralizaron sobre la vida en el pueblo. — "Yesterday, they moralised about life in the village." Sofía: Espero que él moralice con ejemplos de la historia. — "I hope that he/she moralises with examples from history." Diego: Mañana, él moralizará sobre la vida en el pueblo. — "Tomorrow, he/she will moralise about life in the village." Sofía: Antes, nosotros moralizábamos con ejemplos de la historia. — "In the past, we used to moralise with examples from history." Diego: Nosotros moralizamos a los jóvenes con sermones también. — "we moralise young people with sermons too."
This dialogue shows moralizar in the third person and in the plural, which is where learners most often hesitate. Read it aloud with a partner, swapping the names and the complements for your own life, and the forms will start to feel automatic.
Common mistakes with moralizar
The errors learners actually make with moralizar in everyday use, each with the wrong form, the right form, and why it is wrong.
Mistake 1: Adding a reflexive pronoun that does not belong
- Wrong: Yo me moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones.
- Right: Yo moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones.
- Why: moralizar is not reflexive, so there is no pronoun to add: Yo moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones. is the correct sentence.
Mistake 2: Using the infinitive as a conjugated form
- Wrong: Yo moralizar a los jóvenes con sermones.
- Right: Yo moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones.
- Why: The infinitive moralizar is the dictionary form, not a conjugated form. In a sentence with yo you need the present-tense form moralizo.
Mistake 3: Using the present tense for yesterday
- Wrong: Ayer, yo moralizo a sus alumnos en clase.
- Right: Ayer, yo moralicé a sus alumnos en clase.
- Why: Ayer means yesterday, so the action is finished and needs the preterite: Ayer, yo moralicé a sus alumnos en clase. — "Yesterday, I moralised his pupils in class."
Mistake 4: Mixing up the gerund and the participle
- Wrong: Estoy moralizado sobre la vida en el pueblo.
- Right: Estoy moralizando sobre la vida en el pueblo.
- Why: After estar you need the gerund moralizando for the progressive. The participle moralizado goes with haber in the perfect tenses (he moralizado), never after estar.
Mistake 5: Using the él form for nosotros
- Wrong: Nosotros moraliza a los jóvenes con sermones.
- Right: Nosotros moralizamos a los jóvenes con sermones.
- Why: The person and the ending must match: nosotros takes moralizamos, while moraliza belongs to él and ella.
Quiz: moralizar in use
Test yourself with ten questions on moralizar. The answers are explained, so read them even when you get a question right.
1. What is the yo form of moralizar in the present tense?
- (a) moralizo
- (b) moralizas
- (c) moraliza
- (d) moralizamos
Answer: (a) moralizo. The yo form is moralizo.
2. What is the tú form of moralizar in the present tense?
- (a) moralizo
- (b) moraliza
- (c) moralizamos
- (d) moralizas
Answer: (d) moralizas. The tú form is moralizas.
3. What is the él/ella form of moralizar in the present tense?
- (a) moralizas
- (b) moralizamos
- (c) moraliza
- (d) moralizo
Answer: (c) moraliza. The él/ella form is moraliza.
4. Complete the sentence: Cada día, yo ___ a los jóvenes con sermones.
- (a) moralizamos
- (b) moralizo
- (c) moralizas
- (d) moraliza
Answer: (b) moralizo. The sentence needs the yo form moralizo.
5. Complete the sentence: Ayer, yo ___ a sus alumnos en clase.
- (a) moralicé
- (b) moralizaste
- (c) moralizó
- (d) moralizamos
Answer: (a) moralicé. Ayer needs the preterite, and the yo form is moralicé.
6. Complete the sentence: Antes, yo ___ sobre la vida en el pueblo.
- (a) moralizabas
- (b) moralizábamos
- (c) moralizabais
- (d) moralizaba
Answer: (d) moralizaba. Antes needs the imperfect, and the yo form is moralizaba.
7. Complete the sentence: Mañana, yo ___ con ejemplos de la historia.
- (a) moralizará
- (b) moralizaremos
- (c) moralizaré
- (d) moralizarás
Answer: (c) moralizaré. Mañana needs the future, and the yo form is moralizaré.
8. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ a los jóvenes con sermones.
- (a) ha moralizado
- (b) hemos moralizado
- (c) he moralizado
- (d) has moralizado
Answer: (c) he moralizado. The present perfect uses haber plus the participle: he moralizado.
9. Complete the sentence: Espero que él ___ sobre la vida en el pueblo.
- (a) moralice
- (b) moralices
- (c) moralicemos
- (d) moralicéis
Answer: (a) moralice. After espero que Spanish needs the subjunctive, and the él form is moralice.
10. What does moralizar mean in English?
- (a) to moralise
- (b) to locate
- (c) to materialise
- (d) to minimise
Answer: (a) to moralise. moralizar means "to moralise" in English.
Frequently asked questions about moralizar
What does moralizar mean?
moralizar means "to moralise" in English. Use it when you talk about young people with sermons, his pupils in class, life in the village and examples from history — for example: Cada día, yo moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones. — "Every day, I moralise young people with sermons."
Is there a reflexive form of moralizar?
No. moralizar is not reflexive, so it is used without a pronoun: Cada día, yo moralizo a los jóvenes con sermones. — "Every day, I moralise young people with sermons."
What is the most common mistake with moralizar?
The spelling change. Watch the spelling: the z becomes c before e, so the yo preterite is moralicé and the subjunctive forms start with c, for example moralice. Practise the yo form and the subjunctive forms until they feel automatic, and check them against the table on the conjugation page.
How can I practise moralizar?
Take the quiz above, then make your own sentences: change the person in each example, change the complement to something from your own life, and say the sentence aloud. The verb quiz and the verb translator on this site give you more practice with the same forms.