colgar Preterite Conjugation
colgar — to hang
Colgar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (colgué) to keep the hard 'g' sound, but is otherwise regular.
colgar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you finished hanging something up or hung up the phone at a specific moment in the past.
Notes on colgar in the Preterite
This is a 'gar' verb. In the 'yo' form, the 'g' changes to 'gu' before 'é' (colgué) so it doesn't sound like 'col-hay'. All other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Colgué el cuadro en la sala ayer.
I hung the painting in the living room yesterday.
yo
Ella me colgó el teléfono en la cara.
She hung up the phone in my face.
él/ella/usted
¿Colgaron la ropa limpia?
Did they hang up the clean clothes?
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: yo colgé
Correct: yo colgué
Why: Without the 'u', the 'g' sounds like an 'h'. You need 'gu' to keep the hard 'g' sound from the infinitive.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'colgar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: cuelgo
Colgar is an o>ue stem-changer (cuelgo, cuelgas) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: colgaba
The imperfect of colgar is regular: colgaba, colgabas, colgaba, colgábamos, colgabais, colgaban.
Future
yo: colgaré
The future tense of colgar is completely regular: colgaré, colgarás, colgará, etc.
Conditional
yo: colgaría
The conditional is regular: colgaría, colgarías, colgaría, colgaríamos, colgaríais, colgarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cuelgue
The present subjunctive features both the o>ue stem change and the g>gu spelling change (cuelgue).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: colgara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite stem: colgara, colgaras, colgara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cuelga
Use 'cuelga' for friends and 'cuelgue' for formal situations.
Negative Imperative
yo: no cuelgues
Negative commands always use the present subjunctive: no cuelgues, no cuelgue, no colguemos.