alegrar Preterite Conjugation
alegrar — to cheer up
The preterite of alegrar follows the standard -ar pattern: alegré, alegraste, alegró, alegramos, alegrasteis, alegraron.
alegrar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific moment when someone was cheered up or when a specific event brought joy in the past.
Notes on alegrar in the Preterite
Alegrar is fully regular in the preterite. Note that 'alegramos' is the same for both present and past; context is key.
Example Sentences
Tu visita me alegró la tarde ayer.
Your visit cheered up my afternoon yesterday.
él/ella/usted
Ayer alegré a mi madre con unas flores.
Yesterday I cheered up my mother with some flowers.
yo
¿Alegraste a los niños con los regalos?
Did you cheer up the kids with the gifts?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on alegré.
Correct: alegré
Why: Without the accent, it doesn't sound like the past tense and can be confused with other words.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: alegro
Alegrar is regular in the present: alegro, alegras, alegra, alegramos, alegráis, alegran.
Imperfect
yo: alegraba
Alegrar in the imperfect uses the -aba endings: alegraba, alegrabas, alegraba, alegrábamos, alegrabais, alegraban.
Future
yo: alegraré
The future of alegrar adds endings to the infinitive: alegraré, alegrarás, alegrará, alegraremos, alegraréis, alegrarán.
Conditional
yo: alegraría
The conditional of alegrar uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: alegraría, alegrarías, alegraría, alegraríamos, alegraríais, alegrarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: alegre
The present subjunctive of alegrar uses 'e' endings: alegre, alegres, alegre, alegremos, alegréis, alegren.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: alegrara
The imperfect subjunctive of alegrar uses the -ra endings: alegrara, alegraras, alegrara, alegráramos, alegrarais, alegraran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: alegra
The imperative of alegrar provides commands: alegra (tú), alegrad (vosotros), alegre (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no alegres
The negative imperative of alegrar uses the present subjunctive: no alegres, no alegre, no alegremos, no alegréis, no alegren.