
apretar Preterite Conjugation
apretar — to press
Apretar is completely regular in the preterite: apreté, apretaste, apretó, apretamos, apretasteis, apretaron.
apretar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a specific moment you pressed something or a one-time event where you tightened a grip.
Notes on apretar in the Preterite
Despite being irregular in the present, apretar follows the standard -ar pattern in the preterite with no stem changes.
Example Sentences
Apreté el freno justo a tiempo.
I pressed the brake just in time.
yo
Él apretó mi mano con fuerza.
He squeezed my hand firmly.
él/ella/usted
Apretamos el paso para llegar temprano.
We quickened our pace to arrive early.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: aprieté
Correct: apreté
Why: Learners mistakenly carry the present tense stem change (ie) into the preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: aprieto
Apretar is a stem-changing verb where the 'e' becomes 'ie' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: apretaba
The imperfect of apretar is regular and uses the -aba endings: apretaba, apretabas, apretaba...
Future
yo: apretaré
The future is regular: add -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the full infinitive 'apretar'.
Conditional
yo: apretaría
The conditional uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: apretaría, apretarías, apretaría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: apriete
The present subjunctive follows the e-ie stem change: apriete, aprietes, apriete, apretemos, apretéis, aprieten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: apretara
Formed from the preterite 'ellos' form: apretara, apretaras, apretara, apretáramos, apretarais, apretaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: aprieta
Direct commands: aprieta (tú), apriete (usted), apretemos (nosotros), apretad (vosotros), aprieten (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no aprietes
Negative commands use 'no' + present subjunctive: no aprietes, no apriete, no apretemos, no apretéis, no aprieten.