advertir Preterite Conjugation
advertir — to warn
The preterite of advertir features a stem change (e→i) only in the third-person forms: advirtió and advirtieron.
advertir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you gave a specific warning or noticed something at a precise moment in the past. It’s for completed actions, like the exact second you realized a mistake.
Notes on advertir in the Preterite
This is a 'slipper verb.' While most forms are regular, the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) and plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes) change the 'e' to 'i' (advirtió, advirtieron).
Example Sentences
Te advertí sobre el tráfico antes de salir.
I warned you about the traffic before leaving.
yo
El guía nos advirtió que el camino era peligroso.
The guide warned us that the path was dangerous.
Ellos advirtieron el error en el contrato inmediatamente.
They noticed the error in the contract immediately.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'advertió' instead of 'advirtió'.
Correct: advirtió
Why: In the preterite, -ir stem-changers like advertir must change the 'e' to 'i' in the third person.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: advierto
In the present, advertir has an e→ie stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: advertía
The imperfect of advertir is regular: advertía, advertías, advertía, advertíamos, advertíais, advertían.
Future
yo: advertiré
The future tense of advertir is entirely regular, using the full infinitive as the stem.
Conditional
yo: advertiría
The conditional of advertir is regular, formed by adding -ía endings to the full infinitive.
Present Subjunctive
yo: advierta
The present subjunctive of advertir changes e→ie in the boot and e→i in the nosotros/vosotros forms.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: advirtiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'advirt-' stem for all forms: advirtiera, advirtieras, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: advierte
The imperative uses 'advierte' for informal commands and 'advierta/n' for formal ones.
Negative Imperative
yo: no adviertas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no adviertas, no advierta, etc.