explicar preterite conjugation
Explicar (to explain) in the preterite: expliqué, explicaste, explicó, explicamos, explicasteis, explicaron.
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.
Explicar 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
Explicar in a sentence
- Explico la gramática a mis alumnos.I explain grammar to my students.
- El profesor explicó el tema ayer.The teacher explained the topic yesterday.
Spelling change c→qu before e: preterite yo form 'expliqué'.
FAQ
What is the preterite of explicar?
Explicar in the Spanish preterite: yo expliqué, tú explicaste, él/ella/usted explicó, nosotros explicamos, vosotros explicasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes explicaron.
Is explicar irregular in the preterite?
No. In the preterite explicar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so expliqué 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 explicar conjugation, all tenses →
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