existir preterite conjugation
Existir (to exist) in the preterite: existí, exististe, existió, existimos, exististeis, existieron.
Pretérito indefinido Preterite
| yo | |
|---|---|
| tú | |
| él/ella/usted | |
| nosotros | |
| vosotros | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the preterite
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is the past tense for completed actions with a clear start or end: “Ayer hice la cena.” For background, habits and ongoing states in the past, Spanish uses the imperfect instead.
How it is formed
Regular endings: -ar → é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron; -er/-ir → í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron. Many common verbs use an irregular stem (hic-, tuv-, estuv-, pud-, quis-, dij-) with unstressed endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Existir is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: Preterite vs imperfect: when to use each
Existir in a sentence
- Existen muchas soluciones.Many solutions exist.
- Ese problema existió siempre.That problem always existed.
Regular -ir verb; often used impersonally similar to 'hay'.
FAQ
What is the preterite of existir?
Existir in the Spanish preterite: yo existí, tú exististe, él/ella/usted existió, nosotros existimos, vosotros exististeis, ellos/ellas/ustedes existieron.
Is existir irregular in the preterite?
No. In the preterite existir takes the regular endings for its verb class, so existí follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the Spanish preterite?
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is the past tense for completed actions with a clear start or end: “Ayer hice la cena.” For background, habits and ongoing states in the past, Spanish uses the imperfect instead.
How is the preterite formed?
Regular endings: -ar → é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron; -er/-ir → í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron. Many common verbs use an irregular stem (hic-, tuv-, estuv-, pud-, quis-, dij-) with unstressed endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Full existir conjugation, all tenses →
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