cazar Preterite Conjugation
cazar — to hunt
The preterite of cazar features a spelling change in the 'yo' form (cacé) to maintain the soft 'th/s' sound.
cazar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to talk about a specific hunting trip or a moment when someone successfully caught something in the past.
Notes on cazar in the Preterite
This verb has a spelling change from 'z' to 'c' in the 'yo' form (cacé) because in Spanish, 'z' rarely appears before 'e'. All other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Cacé mi primer conejo el verano pasado.
I hunted my first rabbit last summer.
yo
¿Cazaste algo en el bosque ayer?
Did you hunt anything in the forest yesterday?
tú
Ellos cazaron un jabalí durante la excursión.
They hunted a wild boar during the trip.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: cazé
Correct: cacé
Why: In Spanish, the letter 'z' changes to 'c' before the letter 'e' to keep the pronunciation consistent.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cazo
The present tense of cazar is completely regular: cazo, cazas, caza, cazamos, cazáis, cazan.
Imperfect
yo: cazaba
The imperfect of cazar is regular: cazaba, cazabas, cazaba, cazábamos, cazabais, cazaban.
Future
yo: cazaré
The future of cazar is regular: add endings to the infinitive (cazaré, cazarás, cazará, etc.).
Conditional
yo: cazaría
The conditional of cazar is regular: cazaría, cazarías, cazaría, cazaríamos, cazaríais, cazarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cace
The present subjunctive of cazar uses a 'c' instead of a 'z' in all forms: cace, caces, cace, cacemos, cacéis, cacen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cazara
The imperfect subjunctive of cazar is regular: cazara, cazaras, cazara, cazáramos, cazarais, cazaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: caza
The imperative of cazar gives commands: caza (tú), cace (usted), cacemos (nosotros), cazad (vosotros), cacen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no caces
The negative imperative of cazar uses the present subjunctive: no caces, no cace, no cacemos, no cacéis, no cacen.