ahorcar Imperfect Subjunctive Conjugation
ahorcar — to hang
The imperfect subjunctive of ahorcar is regular based on the third-person plural preterite: ahorcara, ahorcaras, ahorcara, ahorcáramos, ahorcarais, ahorcaran.
ahorcar Imperfect Subjunctive Forms
When to Use the Imperfect Subjunctive
Use this for past-tense triggers of the subjunctive or in 'if' clauses where you are imagining a hypothetical hanging or strangulation.
Notes on ahorcar in the Imperfect Subjunctive
This tense is regular for ahorcar; it follows the standard -ar ending pattern after the 'ahorcar-' stem.
Example Sentences
Si lo ahorcaran, habría una protesta.
If they were to hang him, there would be a protest.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Me dio miedo que me ahorcara.
It scared me that he might strangle me.
él/ella/usted
Ojalá no nos ahorcaran con tantos impuestos.
I wish they wouldn't choke us with so many taxes.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: ahorquara
Correct: ahorcara
Why: The spelling change 'qu' only happens before 'e'. Before 'a', the 'c' remains to keep the hard 'k' sound.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: ahorco
The present tense of ahorcar is completely regular: ahorco, ahorcas, ahorca, ahorcamos, ahorcáis, ahorcan.
Preterite
yo: ahorqué
The preterite of ahorcar has a spelling change only in the 'yo' form: ahorqué, ahorcaste, ahorcó, ahorcamos, ahorcasteis, ahorcaron.
Imperfect
yo: ahorcaba
The imperfect of ahorcar is regular: ahorcaba, ahorcabas, ahorcaba, ahorcábamos, ahorcabais, ahorcaban.
Future
yo: ahorcaré
The future tense of ahorcar is regular: ahorcaré, ahorcarás, ahorcará, ahorcaremos, ahorcaréis, ahorcarán.
Conditional
yo: ahorcaría
The conditional of ahorcar is regular: ahorcaría, ahorcarías, ahorcaría, ahorcaríamos, ahorcaríais, ahorcarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: ahorque
The present subjunctive of ahorcar features a spelling change (c to qu) in all persons: ahorque, ahorques, ahorque, ahorquemos, ahorquéis, ahorquen.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ahorca
The imperative of ahorcar uses the regular 'tú' form (ahorca) but switches to 'qu' for others: ahorque, ahorquemos, ahorcad, ahorquen.
Negative Imperative
yo: no ahorques
The negative imperative of ahorcar always uses the 'qu' spelling change: no ahorques, no ahorque, no ahorquemos, no ahorquéis, no ahorquen.