colar Preterite Conjugation
colar — to strain
Colar is completely regular in the preterite: colé, colaste, coló, colamos, colasteis, colaron.
colar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific instance when you strained something or that time someone successfully 'snuck' past security.
Notes on colar in the Preterite
Despite being irregular in the present, colar follows the standard -ar pattern in the preterite. There are no stem changes here.
Example Sentences
Colé el caldo para quitar las verduras.
I strained the broth to remove the vegetables.
yo
Ayer se coló un gato en mi casa.
Yesterday a cat snuck into my house.
él/ella/usted
Colamos el jugo de naranja antes de servirlo.
We strained the orange juice before serving it.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'cuelé' instead of 'colé'.
Correct: colé
Why: Learners often over-apply the stem change from the present tense to the preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cuelo
Colar changes its stem from 'o' to 'ue' in the present tense, except for nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: colaba
Colar is regular in the imperfect: colaba, colabas, colaba, colábamos, colabais, colaban.
Future
yo: colaré
The future of colar is regular: colaré, colarás, colará, colaremos, colaréis, colarán.
Conditional
yo: colaría
The conditional of colar is regular: colaría, colarías, colaría, colaríamos, colaríais, colarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cuele
The present subjunctive of colar follows the o > ue stem change: cuele, cueles, cuele, colemos, coléis, cuelen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: colara
The imperfect subjunctive of colar is regular: colara, colaras, colara, coláramos, colarais, colaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cuela
The imperative uses 'cuela' (tú) and 'cuele' (usted), following the stem change.
Negative Imperative
yo: no cueles
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no cueles, no cuele, no colemos, no coléis, no cuelen.