arrepentirse Preterite Conjugation
arrepentirse — to regret
Arrepentirse has a stem change (e > i) only in the third-person forms (él/ellos) in the preterite.
arrepentirse Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to pinpoint a specific moment in the past when someone felt a sudden wave of regret or changed their mind about a decision.
Notes on arrepentirse in the Preterite
While the first and second persons follow regular -ir rules, the third-person singular (se arrepintió) and plural (se arrepintieron) change the 'e' to 'i'.
Example Sentences
Me arrepentí en cuanto colgué el teléfono.
I regretted it as soon as I hung up the phone.
yo
Él se arrepintió de su comportamiento ayer.
He regretted his behavior yesterday.
él/ella/usted
Nos arrepentimos de comprar esa casa vieja.
We regretted buying that old house.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Ellos se arrepentieron.
Correct: Ellos se arrepintieron.
Why: In the preterite, -ir stem-changing verbs use 'i' instead of 'ie' for the third-person forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: me arrepiento
Arrepentirse is a stem-changing (e > ie) verb in the present tense, except for the nosotros and vosotros forms.
Imperfect
yo: me arrepentía
Arrepentirse is completely regular in the imperfect tense: arrepentía, arrepentías, arrepentía...
Future
yo: me arrepentiré
The future tense of arrepentirse is regular: attach the endings to the full infinitive.
Conditional
yo: me arrepentiría
The conditional of arrepentirse is regular: arrepentiría, arrepentirías, arrepentiría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: me arrepienta
The present subjunctive uses the 'ie' stem change, except for nosotros/vosotros which use 'i'.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: me arrepintiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'i' stem change throughout: arrepintiera, arrepintieras...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: arrepiéntete
The imperative uses the 'ie' stem change for commands (except 'arrepentíos').
Negative Imperative
yo: no te arrepientas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no te arrepientas.