auxiliar Preterite Conjugation
auxiliar — to help
Use 'auxilié', 'auxiliaste', 'auxilió', 'auxiliamos', 'auxiliasteis', 'auxiliaron' for completed past actions of helping.
auxiliar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
The preterite is for actions of helping that were completed at a specific point in the past. Think of it as a snapshot: someone helped, and that action is finished.
Notes on auxiliar in the Preterite
Auxiliar is regular in the preterite. All the endings follow the standard pattern for -ar verbs: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.
Example Sentences
Yo auxilié a mi vecino con la mudanza.
I helped my neighbor with the move.
yo
¿Tú auxiliaste a la persona que se cayó?
Did you help the person who fell?
tú
Él auxilió a los bomberos en la emergencia.
He helped the firefighters in the emergency.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros auxiliamos a la Cruz Roja el verano pasado.
We helped the Red Cross last summer.
nosotros
Ellos auxiliaron a los turistas perdidos.
They helped the lost tourists.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'auxiliaba' instead of the preterite 'auxilió' for a single act of helping.
Correct: For a specific, completed act of help, use the preterite: 'Él auxilió'.
Why: The preterite marks a finished action, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'auxilié' and 'auxilió'.
Correct: The 'yo' form needs an accent: 'auxilié'. The 'él/ella/usted' form also needs an accent: 'auxilió'.
Why: These accents are required to indicate the stressed syllable in these specific preterite forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: auxilio
Use 'auxilio', 'auxilias', 'auxilia', 'auxiliamos', 'auxiliáis', 'auxilian' for current or habitual helping.
Imperfect
yo: auxiliaba
Use 'auxiliaba', 'auxiliabas', 'auxiliaba', 'auxiliábamos', 'auxiliabais', 'auxiliaban' for ongoing or habitual past help.
Future
yo: auxiliaré
Use 'auxiliaré', 'auxiliarás', 'auxiliará', 'auxiliaremos', 'auxiliaréis', 'auxiliarán' for future help.
Conditional
yo: auxiliaría
Use 'auxiliaría', 'auxiliarías', 'auxiliaría', 'auxiliaríamos', 'auxiliaríais', 'auxiliarían' for 'would' help.
Present Subjunctive
yo: auxilie
Use 'auxilie', 'auxilies', 'auxiliemos', 'auxilien' after wishes, doubts, or emotions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: auxiliara
Use 'auxiliara' or 'auxiliarais' for past hypothetical situations or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: auxilia
Use 'auxilia', 'auxilie', 'auxiliemos', 'auxiliad', 'auxilien' for direct commands with 'auxiliar'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no auxilies
Use 'no auxilies', 'no auxilie', 'no auxiliemos', 'no auxiliéis', 'no auxilien' for negative commands.