atener Preterite Conjugation
atener — to abide by
The preterite of atenerse is highly irregular, using the 'atuv-' stem: me atuve, te atuviste, se atuvo...
atener Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to state that someone specifically followed or stuck to a rule or fact at a specific moment in the past.
Notes on atener in the Preterite
Like 'tener', this verb changes its stem to 'atuv-' and uses irregular endings without accents (uve, uviste, uvo).
Example Sentences
Me atuve a los hechos durante el juicio.
I stuck to the facts during the trial.
yo
Ella se atuvo a las instrucciones del médico.
She followed the doctor's instructions strictly.
él/ella/usted
Nos atuvimos a lo que decía el contrato.
We abided by what the contract said.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'se atenió'.
Correct: The correct form is 'se atuvo'.
Why: Atener follows the conjugation of 'tener', which is irregular in the preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: me atengo
The present tense of atenerse is irregular and shoe-shaped: me atengo, te atienes, se atiene...
Imperfect
yo: me atenía
The imperfect of atenerse is regular: me atenía, te atenías, se atenía...
Future
yo: me atendré
The future tense of atenerse uses the irregular stem 'atendr-': me atendré, te atendrás, se atendrá...
Conditional
yo: me atendría
The conditional of atenerse uses the 'atendr-' stem: me atendría, te atendrías, se atendría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: me atenga
The present subjunctive of atenerse uses the irregular 'g' stem: me atenga, te atengas, se atenga...
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: me atuviera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the irregular 'atuv-' stem: me atuviera, te atuvieras, se atuviera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: atenme
The imperative of atenerse gives direct orders: atente, aténgase, atengámonos...
Negative Imperative
yo: no te atengas
The negative imperative uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no te atengas, no se atenga...