concebir Preterite Conjugation
concebir — to conceive
Concebir has a third-person stem change (e-i) in the preterite: concibió and concibieron.
concebir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use this for the specific moment an idea was formed or a biological conception occurred in the past.
Notes on concebir in the Preterite
Only the third-person singular (él/ella) and plural (ellos/ellas) change the 'e' to 'i'. All other forms use the regular -ir endings on the stem 'conceb-'.
Example Sentences
Concebí la idea durante mis vacaciones.
I conceived the idea during my vacation.
yo
El arquitecto concibió el edificio en una tarde.
The architect conceived the building in one afternoon.
él/ella/usted
Mis abuelos concibieron a su primer hijo en 1960.
My grandparents conceived their first child in 1960.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: él concebió
Correct: él concibió
Why: -ir verbs with stem changes in the present also change in the 3rd person preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: concibo
Concebir follows an e-i stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: concebía
The imperfect of concebir is completely regular: concebía, concebías, concebía...
Future
yo: concebiré
Concebir is regular in the future; just add endings to the infinitive (concebiré).
Conditional
yo: concebiría
The conditional of concebir is regular: concebiría, concebirías, concebiría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: conciba
Concebir changes the stem to 'concib-' for all subjects in the present subjunctive.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: concibiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'concib-' stem: concibiera, concibieras...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: concibe
Use 'concibe' (tú) or 'conciban' (ustedes) to tell someone to form an idea.
Negative Imperative
yo: no concibas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms with 'no'.