The preterite of castigar is used to express when someone punished someone else at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “The teacher punished the student yesterday” – “El profesor castigó al estudiante ayer.”
This is a -gar spelling-changing verb in the preterite tense. In the yo form, you must add a ‘u’ after the ‘g’ (castigué) to maintain the hard ‘g’ sound.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Castigar (to punish) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | castigué |
| Tú | castigaste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | castigó |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | castigamos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | castigasteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | castigaron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Castigar (to punish) in the Preterite (Past) Tense to help you learn faster.
Pro Tip: Play the audio on a loop as you study the chart. This repetition will solidify the correct conjugations in your memory.
Usage of Castigar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of castigar expresses completed acts of punishment.
To punish (completed action): Describes specific instances of discipline or punishment, for example Los padres castigaron a sus hijos (The parents punished their children), or El juez lo castigó con una multa (The judge punished him with a fine).
To penalize: Used in formal or legal contexts, for example La compañía castigó el retraso con una reducción de sueldo (The company penalized the delay with a salary reduction).
Examples
Examples of Castigar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
Los padres castigaron a su hijo por mentir. (The parents punished their son for lying.)
El profesor castigó a toda la clase. (The teacher punished the whole class.)
Castigué al perro por romper los muebles. (I punished the dog for breaking the furniture.)
¿Por qué castigaste a tu hermana? (Why did you punish your sister?)
La justicia castigó severamente el delito. (Justice severely punished the crime.)
Castigamos su mal comportamiento. (We punished his bad behavior.)
El equipo castigó los errores del rival. (The team punished the opponent’s mistakes.)
La sociedad castigó sus acciones. (Society punished his actions.)
Los jueces castigaron la corrupción. (The judges punished the corruption.)
Castigué su falta de respeto. (I punished their lack of respect.)
El mercado castigó a las empresas irresponsables. (The market punished irresponsible companies.)
Castigaron el fraude con una multa. (They punished the fraud with a fine.)
La directora castigó la indisciplina. (The principal punished the indiscipline.)
Castigamos su tardanza con trabajo extra. (We punished their tardiness with extra work.)
El árbitro castigó la falta con tarjeta roja. (The referee punished the foul with a red card.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Castigar (to punish) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo castigué | I punished |
| Tú castigaste | You punished |
| Él / Ella / Usted castigó | He / She / You (formal) punished |
| Nosotros / Nosotras castigamos | We punished |
| Vosotros / Vosotras castigasteis | You all punished |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes castigaron | They / You all (formal) punished |
This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here
Synonyms
The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.