botar Preterite Conjugation
botar — to throw away
Use 'boté', 'botaste', 'botó', 'botamos', 'botasteis', 'botaron' for completed actions of throwing away.
botar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
The preterite is for actions of throwing away that were completed at a specific point in the past. Think: 'I threw away the receipt yesterday' or 'She threw away the old chair last week.' It emphasizes the action happened and finished.
Notes on botar in the Preterite
Botar is regular in the preterite tense. The stem 'bot-' takes the standard -ar preterite endings: 'boté' (yo), 'botaste' (tú), 'botó' (él/ella/usted), 'botamos' (nosotros), 'botasteis' (vosotros), 'botaron' (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Example Sentences
Boté la botella de plástico en el contenedor correcto.
I threw away the plastic bottle in the correct bin.
yo
¿Botaste las llaves viejas?
Did you throw away the old keys?
tú
Él botó la comida caducada.
He threw away the expired food.
él/ella/usted
Ellos botaron todos los adornos después de Navidad.
They threw away all the decorations after Christmas.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect ('botaba') instead of the preterite for a single, completed action.
Correct: For 'I threw away the trash yesterday', use 'Boté la basura ayer', not 'Botaba la basura ayer'.
Why: The preterite marks a completed event, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'botó'.
Correct: The third-person singular form is 'botó' with an accent.
Why: The accent is crucial to distinguish this form from the nosotros present indicative ('botamos') and to indicate the stressed syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: boto
Use 'boto', 'botas', 'bota', 'botamos', 'botáis', 'botan' for current or habitual actions of throwing away.
Imperfect
yo: botaba
Use 'botaba', 'botabas', 'botaba', 'botábamos', 'botabais', 'botaban' for ongoing or habitual past actions of throwing away.
Future
yo: botaré
Use 'botaré', 'botarás', 'botará', 'botaremos', 'botaréis', 'botarán' for future actions of throwing away.
Conditional
yo: botaría
Use 'botaría', 'botarías', 'botaría', 'botaríamos', 'botaríais', 'botarían' for hypothetical or polite commands with botar.
Present Subjunctive
yo: bote
Use 'bote' (yo/él/ella/usted) and 'boten' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for wishes, doubts, and emotions with botar.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: botara
Use 'botara' or 'botase' forms for hypothetical or past subjunctive situations with botar.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: bota
Use imperative forms like 'bota' (tú) and 'boten' (ustedes) for direct commands with botar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no botes
Use 'no botes' (tú) and 'no boten' (ustedes) for negative commands with botar.