acercar Preterite Conjugation
acercar — to move closer
Acercar has a spelling change only in the 'yo' form (acerqué); all other forms are regular.
acercar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a completed action of moving something or someone closer at a specific moment in the past.
Notes on acercar in the Preterite
The 'yo' form changes 'c' to 'qu' (acerqué) to keep the hard 'k' sound. Other forms like 'acercaste' or 'acercó' remain regular.
Example Sentences
Me acerqué a la ventana para ver la lluvia.
I moved closer to the window to see the rain.
yo
Juan acercó la lámpara para leer.
Juan moved the lamp closer to read.
él/ella/usted
Ayer nos acercamos al centro comercial.
Yesterday we went (moved closer) to the mall.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'acercé' for the yo form.
Correct: acerqué
Why: The spelling change 'c' to 'qu' is required before 'é' to maintain the phonetic 'k' sound.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: acerco
The present tense of acercar is completely regular: acerco, acercas, acerca, acercamos, acercáis, acercan.
Imperfect
yo: acercaba
The imperfect of acercar is regular: acercaba, acercabas, acercaba, acercábamos, acercabais, acercaban.
Future
yo: acercaré
The future tense is regular, using the full infinitive as the base: acercaré, acercarás, acercará, acercaremos, acercaréis, acercarán.
Conditional
yo: acercaría
The conditional is regular: acercaría, acercarías, acercaría, acercaríamos, acercaríais, acercarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: acerque
The present subjunctive of acercar features a spelling change (c to qu) in all forms: acerque, acerques, acerque, acerquemos, acerquéis, acerquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: acercara
The imperfect subjunctive of acercar is regular: acercara, acercaras, acercara, acercáramos, acercarais, acercaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: acerca
The imperative uses 'acerca' for tú and 'acerque(n)' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no acerques
Negative commands always use the spelling change: no acerques, no acerque, no acerquemos, no acerquéis, no acerquen.