amar Preterite Conjugation
amar — to love
The preterite of amar is regular: amé, amaste, amó, amamos, amasteis, amaron.
amar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when referring to a specific period of time in the past when love was felt or to describe the moment someone fell in love as a completed event.
Notes on amar in the Preterite
Amar is regular in the preterite. The 'nosotros' form 'amamos' is identical to the present tense form.
Example Sentences
Él amó a su esposa hasta el último día.
He loved his wife until the last day.
él/ella/usted
Yo amé ese libro desde la primera página.
I loved that book from the first page.
yo
Ellos se amaron intensamente durante el verano.
They loved each other intensely during the summer.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: amastes
Correct: amaste
Why: Learners often add an 's' to the end of the tú form in the preterite by analogy with other tenses, but it is incorrect.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: amo
Amar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense: amo, amas, ama, amamos, amáis, aman.
Imperfect
yo: amaba
The imperfect of amar follows the regular -aba pattern: amaba, amabas, amaba, amábamos, amabais, amaban.
Future
yo: amaré
The future of amar uses the infinitive as the stem: amaré, amarás, amará, amaremos, amaréis, amarán.
Conditional
yo: amaría
The conditional of amar adds -ía endings to the infinitive: amaría, amarías, amaría, amaríamos, amaríais, amarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: ame
The present subjunctive of amar swaps the -a for -e: ame, ames, ame, amemos, améis, amen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: amara
The imperfect subjunctive of amar uses the -ara endings: amara, amaras, amara, amáramos, amarais, amaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ama
The imperative of amar gives commands or advice: ama, ame, amemos, amad, amen.
Negative Imperative
yo: no ames
The negative imperative of amar uses the present subjunctive: no ames, no ame, no amemos, no améis, no amen.