compadecer Present Conjugation
compadecer — to pity
Compadecer is irregular in the first person (compadezco), but regular for all other forms.
compadecer Present Forms
When to Use the Present
Use the present tense to express current feelings of sympathy or to state a general truth about who you feel sorry for in your daily life.
Notes on compadecer in the Present
This verb follows the 'zc' pattern: the 'c' changes to 'zc' only in the 'yo' form (compadezco) to maintain the soft 'th/s' sound before the 'o'.
Example Sentences
Yo compadezco a los que no tienen hogar.
I pity those who are homeless.
yo
Ella compadece a su vecino por su mala suerte.
She pities her neighbor for his bad luck.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros compadecemos a las víctimas del accidente.
We feel for the victims of the accident.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Yo compadezo.
Correct: Yo compadezco.
Why: Verbs ending in -ecer require a 'z' before the 'c' in the first person present to keep the pronunciation consistent.
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Related Tenses
Preterite
yo: compadecí
Compadecer is completely regular in the preterite: compadecí, compadeció.
Imperfect
yo: compadecía
Compadecer is regular in the imperfect: compadecía, compadecías.
Future
yo: compadeceré
Compadecer is regular in the future: compadeceré, compadecerás.
Conditional
yo: compadecería
Compadecer is regular in the conditional: compadecería, compadecerías.
Present Subjunctive
yo: compadezca
The present subjunctive uses the 'compadezc-' stem for all persons.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: compadeciera
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the third-person preterite stem: compadeciera.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: compadece
The imperative uses 'compadece' for tú and 'compadezca' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no compadezcas
Negative commands always use the 'zc' stem: no compadezcas.