📖LearnModule 12 · Lesson 17 of 30Proficient User · CEFR C1, completedUnit 4 · La prensa y las instituciones
La ley y la justicia
Module 12 of the free Spanish course (CEFR C1, completed), lesson 17 of 30: Una ley is passed, un decreto is issued by the executive. On this page: 10 words with their genders and respellings, the rule, a watch-out line, the conjugation table and the audio — the study notes behind the workbook's QR.
The words
Spanish
English
Say it
la ley
the law (a statute)
lah LAY
el decreto
the decree
ehl deh-KREH-toh
el tribunal
the court
ehl tree-boo-NAHL
el juez
the judge
ehl HWEHS
juzgar
to try (in court)
hoos-GAR
condenar
to convict
kohn-deh-NAR
absolver
to acquit
ahb-sohl-BEHR
el fiscal
the prosecutor
ehl fees-KAHL
el juicio
the trial
ehl HWEE-syoh
el reglamento
the regulations
ehl rreh-glah-MEHN-toh
Respellings follow the course’s say-it key; the stressed syllable is in capitals. Print this lesson’s flashcards (PDF) — the words on the front, the English and respelling on the back.
La regla · The rule
Una ley is passed; un decreto is issued by the executive; un reglamento fills in the detail. El tribunal hears the case, la corte is the higher court in most of Latin America, and el juez decides.
Y también · And also
Two verbs to keep apart: juzgar is to try or to judge, condenar is to convict or sentence, and absolver is to acquit. A headline that says juzgado tells you the trial happened, not how it ended.
Ojo · Watch out
juzgar is to try or to judge; condenar is to convict; absolver is to acquit. A headline saying juzgado tells you the trial took place, not how it ended. el fiscal is the prosecutor, not a tax official.
juzgar, voz pasiva — the table
él es juzgado · ella es juzgada · ellos son juzgados · ellas son juzgadas
Do it now — on paper
Say all 10 words aloud twice from the respelling, then once from the Spanish spelling alone — begin with la ley.
Copy every word with its accents on paper; then cover the English column and write each meaning back from the Spanish.
Write out juzgar, voz pasiva in full from memory, every person, and check each form against the table above.
This free course is the reading half. The writing half — write-in lessons, daily practice pages with built-in review, self-checks and a full answer key — is the companion workbook series, The Spanish Ladder: one workbook per module, fifteen in all, released band by band with the Basic band (Modules 1–5) first.
Keep these words
Turn this lesson’s words into flashcards, then space your reviews — the two habits the research behind our study guides backs hardest.