necesitar preterite conjugation
Necesitar (to need) in the preterite: necesité, necesitaste, necesitó, necesitamos, necesitasteis, necesitaron.
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.
Necesitar 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
Necesitar in a sentence
- Necesito más tiempo para terminar.I need more time to finish.
- Necesitábamos ayuda con la mudanza.We needed help with the move.
Regular -ar verb; followed by noun or infinitive, no preposition needed.
FAQ
What is the preterite of necesitar?
Necesitar in the Spanish preterite: yo necesité, tú necesitaste, él/ella/usted necesitó, nosotros necesitamos, vosotros necesitasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes necesitaron.
Is necesitar irregular in the preterite?
No. In the preterite necesitar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so necesité 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.
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