complacer Preterite Conjugation
complacer — to please
The preterite of complacer is regular: complací, complaciste, complació, complacimos, complacisteis, complacieron.
complacer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use this for a specific moment in the past when someone was pleased or a request was satisfied.
Notes on complacer in the Preterite
Complacer is completely regular in the preterite indicative. It does not use the 'z' found in the present tense.
Example Sentences
La noticia me complació mucho.
The news pleased me very much.
él/ella/usted
Complacimos a los clientes con un descuento.
We pleased the customers with a discount.
nosotros
Ayer complací todos sus caprichos.
Yesterday I indulged (pleased) all her whims.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'complazca' instead of 'complació' for the past.
Correct: complació
Why: The 'z' spelling is only for the present indicative 'yo' and the subjunctive; the preterite stays regular.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'complacer' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: complazco
The present tense is mostly regular, except for the 'yo' form: complazco.
Imperfect
yo: complacía
The imperfect of complacer is regular: complacía, complacías, complacía, complacíamos, complacíais, complacían.
Future
yo: complaceré
The future tense is regular: complaceré, complacerás, complacerá, complaceremos, complaceréis, complacerán.
Conditional
yo: complacería
The conditional of complacer is regular: complacería, complacerías, complacería, complaceríamos, complaceríais, complacerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: complazca
The present subjunctive of complacer uses the 'z' in the stem: complazca, complazcas, complazca, complazcamos, complazcáis, complazcan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: complaciera
The imperfect subjunctive is regular based on the preterite stem: complaciera, complacieras, complaciera, complaciéramos, complacierais, complacieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: complace
The imperative uses 'complace' for tú and 'complazca' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no complazcas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive: no complazcas, no complazca, no complazcamos, no complazcáis, no complazcan.