concentrar Preterite Conjugation
concentrar — to focus
The preterite of concentrar is regular: concentré, concentraste, concentró, concentramos, concentrasteis, concentraron.
concentrar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'concentrar' to talk about a specific, completed action of focusing in the past. For example, 'I focused on the lecture for an hour' or 'He focused on his breathing before the race'. It emphasizes the action as a whole, now finished.
Notes on concentrar in the Preterite
Concentrar is regular in the preterite. All endings are standard for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Me concentré en la película anoche.
I focused on the movie last night.
yo
¿Te concentraste en la explicación del profesor?
Did you focus on the teacher's explanation?
tú
Ella se concentró en su trabajo durante horas.
She focused on her work for hours.
él/ella/usted
Ellos concentraron su energía en el último sprint.
They focused their energy on the final sprint.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'concentraba' instead of the preterite 'concentré'.
Correct: For a specific, completed act of focusing, use 'concentré', 'concentraste', etc.
Why: The preterite marks a finished action, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'yo' form.
Correct: The 'yo' form is 'concentré' with an accent on the final 'é'.
Why: The accent distinguishes the preterite 'yo' form and indicates the stressed syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: concentro
The present tense of concentrar (concentro, concentras, concentra, etc.) describes current actions or habits.
Imperfect
yo: concentraba
The imperfect of concentrar (concentraba, concentrabas, etc.) describes past habits or ongoing actions.
Future
yo: concentraré
The future tense of concentrar (concentraré, concentrarás, etc.) expresses actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: concentraría
The conditional of concentrar (concentraría, concentrarías, etc.) expresses hypothetical actions ('would focus').
Present Subjunctive
yo: concentre
The present subjunctive of concentrar (concentre, concentres, concentremos, etc.) is used for wishes, doubts, and emotions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: concentrara
The imperfect subjunctive of concentrar (concentrara/concentrase) expresses past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: concentra
Use the imperative of concentrar for direct commands: ¡concentra, concentre, concentremos, concentrad, concentren!
Negative Imperative
yo: no concentres
Negative commands for concentrar use the present subjunctive: ¡no concentres, no concentre, no concentremos, no concentréis, no concentren!