alegar Preterite Conjugation
alegar — to allege
Alegar is regular in the preterite except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'alegué'.
alegar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for specific, completed instances where someone made a claim or legal argument in the past.
Notes on alegar in the Preterite
The 'yo' form changes 'g' to 'gu' (alegué) to preserve the hard 'g' sound. All other forms (alegaste, alegó, etc.) are regular.
Example Sentences
Alegué que no tenía la culpa.
I alleged that I wasn't at fault.
yo
El abogado alegó que el contrato era nulo.
The lawyer claimed that the contract was void.
él/ella/usted
Ellos alegaron que el tren llegó tarde.
They claimed that the train arrived late.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'alegue' for the past tense 'I alleged'.
Correct: alegué
Why: Without the accent, 'alegue' is the present subjunctive. The preterite 'yo' form always needs the accent.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: alego
Alegar is a completely regular -ar verb in the present indicative: alego, alegas, alega.
Imperfect
yo: alegaba
The imperfect of alegar is regular: alegaba, alegabas, alegaba, alegábamos.
Future
yo: alegaré
The future of alegar is regular: add endings to the infinitive (alegaré, alegarás, alegará).
Conditional
yo: alegaría
The conditional of alegar is regular: add -ía endings to the infinitive (alegaría, alegarías).
Present Subjunctive
yo: alegue
The present subjunctive of alegar requires a spelling change to 'alegue' to keep the hard 'g' sound.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: alegara
The imperfect subjunctive of alegar is formed regularly from the third-person plural preterite: alegara, alegaras, alegara.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: alega
The imperative of alegar uses 'alega' for tú and 'alegue' for usted.
Negative Imperative
yo: no alegues
The negative imperative of alegar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no alegues, no alegue.