alimentar Preterite Conjugation
alimentar — to feed
Alimentar is regular in the preterite: alimenté, alimentaste, alimentó, alimentamos, alimentasteis, alimentaron.
alimentar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific time you fed someone or something, like a completed task earlier today or yesterday.
Notes on alimentar in the Preterite
This verb is fully regular in the preterite. Note the accent marks on the first and third person singular forms.
Example Sentences
Ayer alimenté a los perros antes de salir.
Yesterday I fed the dogs before leaving.
yo
Ellos alimentaron a los voluntarios después del evento.
They fed the volunteers after the event.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
¿Alimentaste al pájaro esta mañana?
Did you feed the bird this morning?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: alimentastes
Correct: alimentaste
Why: Learners often incorrectly add an 's' to the second-person singular preterite ending.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'alimentar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: alimento
Alimentar is regular in the present: alimento, alimentas, alimenta, alimentamos, alimentáis, alimentan.
Imperfect
yo: alimentaba
The imperfect of alimentar follows the regular -aba pattern: alimentaba, alimentabas, alimentaba...
Future
yo: alimentaré
The future of alimentar is formed by adding endings to the infinitive: alimentaré, alimentarás, alimentará...
Conditional
yo: alimentaría
The conditional of alimentar adds -ía endings to the infinitive: alimentaría, alimentarías, alimentaría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: alimente
The present subjunctive of alimentar uses -e endings: alimente, alimentes, alimente, alimentemos, alimentéis, alimenten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: alimentara
The imperfect subjunctive of alimentar uses -ara endings: alimentara, alimentaras, alimentara, alimentáramos...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: alimenta
The imperative of alimentar gives direct orders: alimenta (tú), alimentad (vosotros), alimente (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no alimentes
The negative imperative of alimentar uses 'no' + present subjunctive forms: no alimentes, no alimente, etc.