confesar Preterite Conjugation
confesar — to confess
The preterite of confesar is regular: confesé, confesaste, confesó, confesamos, confesasteis, confesaron.
confesar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe the specific moment someone admitted something. It marks a completed action where the confession happened at a fixed point in time.
Notes on confesar in the Preterite
Confesar is regular in the preterite. The stem-change (e>ie) that happens in the present does NOT occur here.
Example Sentences
Al final, él confesó toda la verdad.
In the end, he confessed the whole truth.
él/ella/usted
Confesé mis sentimientos ayer.
I confessed my feelings yesterday.
yo
Ellos confesaron que perdieron las llaves.
They confessed that they lost the keys.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Yo confiesé.
Correct: Yo confesé.
Why: Learners often try to carry the 'ie' stem change from the present tense into the preterite, but this verb is regular in the past.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'confesar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: confieso
Confesar has a stem change (e > ie) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros: confieso, confiesas, confiesa, confesamos, confesáis, confiesan.
Imperfect
yo: confesaba
The imperfect of confesar is regular: confesaba, confesabas, confesaba, confesábamos, confesabais, confesaban.
Future
yo: confesaré
The future tense is regular: confesaré, confesarás, confesará, confesaremos, confesaréis, confesarán.
Conditional
yo: confesaría
The conditional is regular: confesaría, confesarías, confesaría, confesaríamos, confesaríais, confesarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: confiese
The present subjunctive mirrors the present indicative stem change: confiese, confieses, confiese, confesemos, confeséis, confiesen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: confesara
The imperfect subjunctive is formed from the preterite stem: confesara, confesaras, confesara, confesáramos, confesarais, confesaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: confiesa
The affirmative imperative uses the 'ie' stem change for most forms: confiesa (tú), confiese (usted), confesad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no confieses
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no confieses, no confiese, no confesemos, no confeséis, no confiesen.