caer Preterite Conjugation
caer — to fall
Caer is irregular in the preterite, featuring a 'y' in the third-person forms (cayó, cayeron) and accents on all other endings.
caer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for sudden, completed falls or moments when someone 'tripped' or 'dropped' something at a specific point in time.
Notes on caer in the Preterite
The 'i' changes to 'y' in the él/ella and ellos/ellas forms to avoid three vowels in a row. Also, every form except the third-person plural carries a written accent to maintain the stress on the 'í'.
Example Sentences
Me caí en medio de la calle.
I fell in the middle of the street.
yo
El libro se cayó de la mesa.
The book fell off the table.
él/ella/usted
Los precios cayeron de repente.
Prices fell suddenly.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'caio' or 'caieron'.
Correct: cayó / cayeron
Why: In Spanish, an unstressed 'i' between two vowels must change to a 'y'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: caigo
Caer is irregular only in the 'yo' form (caigo), while the rest follow normal -er patterns.
Imperfect
yo: caía
Caer is regular in the imperfect: caía, caías, caía, caíamos, caíais, caían.
Future
yo: caeré
Caer is regular in the future tense: caeré, caerás, caerá, caeremos, caeréis, caerán.
Conditional
yo: caería
The conditional of caer is regular: caería, caerías, caería, caeríamos, caeríais, caerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: caiga
The present subjunctive of caer is based on the irregular 'yo' form: caiga, caigas, caiga, etc.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cayera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'y' from the preterite: cayera, cayeras, cayera, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cae
The imperative uses 'cae' for tú and 'caiga' for formal/plural commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no caigas
The negative imperative of caer always uses the present subjunctive forms.