apreciar Preterite Conjugation
apreciar — to appreciate
The preterite of apreciar is regular: aprecié, apreciaste, apreció, apreciamos, apreciasteis, apreciaron.
apreciar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for completed actions of appreciating something at a specific point in the past, like 'I appreciated your help yesterday'.
Notes on apreciar in the Preterite
Apreciar is regular in the preterite tense. All forms are conjugated by adding the standard -ar preterite endings to the infinitive stem.
Example Sentences
Aprecié mucho tu consejo.
I really appreciated your advice.
yo
¿Apreciaste la película?
Did you appreciate the movie?
tú
Ella apreció el gesto amable.
She appreciated the kind gesture.
él/ella/usted
Ellos apreciaron la oportunidad.
They appreciated the opportunity.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a single completed action.
Correct: For 'I appreciated your help yesterday', use 'Aprecié', not 'Apreciaba'.
Why: The preterite marks a specific, finished event, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms.
Correct: The forms are 'aprecié' and 'apreció', not 'aprecie' and 'aprecio'.
Why: The accents are crucial for pronunciation and distinguish these forms from the present tense or subjunctive.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: aprecio
The present tense of apreciar is regular: aprecio, aprecias, aprecia, apreciamos, apreciáis, aprecian.
Imperfect
yo: apreciaba
The imperfect of apreciar is regular: apreciaba, apreciabas, apreciaba, apreciábamos, apreciabais, apreciaban.
Future
yo: apreciaré
The future tense of apreciar is regular: apreciaré, apreciarás, apreciará, apreciaremos, apreciaréis, apreciarán.
Conditional
yo: apreciaría
The conditional of apreciar is regular: apreciaría, apreciarías, apreciaría, apreciaríamos, apreciaríais, apreciarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: aprecie
The present subjunctive (aprecie) is used for wishes, doubts, emotions, and uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: apreciara
The imperfect subjunctive (apreciara/apreciase) describes hypothetical or uncertain past situations.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: aprecia
The imperative of apreciar uses forms like 'aprecia' (tú) and 'aprecien' (ustedes) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no aprecies
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: 'no aprecies' (tú), 'no aprecien' (ustedes).