clasificar Preterite Conjugation
clasificar — to classify
The preterite of clasificar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'clasifiqué'.
clasificar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for completed actions, like when a team qualified for a tournament or when you finished sorting a specific set of files.
Notes on clasificar in the Preterite
The 'yo' form changes 'c' to 'qu' (clasifiqué) to preserve the hard 'k' sound. All other forms are regular -ar preterite endings.
Example Sentences
Clasifiqué toda la ropa para lavar.
I sorted (classified) all the clothes for washing.
yo
El equipo clasificó para el mundial ayer.
The team qualified for the World Cup yesterday.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros clasificamos los correos esta mañana.
We sorted the emails this morning.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'clasificé' for the yo form.
Correct: clasifiqué
Why: The spelling change 'c' to 'qu' is mandatory in the preterite 'yo' form to keep the pronunciation consistent.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'clasificar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: clasifico
Clasificar is completely regular in the present indicative: clasifico, clasificas, clasifica, clasificamos, clasificáis, clasifican.
Imperfect
yo: clasificaba
The imperfect of clasificar is regular: clasificaba, clasificabas, clasificaba, clasificábamos, clasificabais, clasificaban.
Future
yo: clasificaré
The future tense is regular: add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive clasificar.
Conditional
yo: clasificaría
The conditional is regular: add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive clasificar.
Present Subjunctive
yo: clasifique
The present subjunctive of clasificar requires a spelling change from 'c' to 'qu' in all forms: clasifique, clasifiques, clasifique, clasifiquemos, clasifiquéis, clasifiquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: clasificara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite stem: clasificara, clasificaras, clasificara, clasificáramos, clasificarais, clasificaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: clasifica
The imperative uses 'clasifica' (tú) and 'clasificad' (vosotros), while formal commands use 'clasifique/n'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no clasifiques
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no clasifiques, no clasifique, no clasifiquemos, no clasifiquéis, no clasifiquen.