
contraer Preterite Conjugation
contraer — to contract
The preterite of contraer is highly irregular, using a 'j' stem: contraje, contrajiste, contrajo.
contraer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use this for completed past actions, such as the moment someone caught a disease or signed a formal contract.
Notes on contraer in the Preterite
It follows the 'traer' pattern. The stem changes to 'contraj-' and it uses special endings without accents. Note that the 'ellos' form is 'contrajeron', not 'contrajeron'.
Example Sentences
Él contrajo matrimonio en una pequeña iglesia.
He got married (contracted marriage) in a small church.
él/ella/usted
Contraje una gripe terrible durante el viaje.
I caught a terrible flu during the trip.
yo
Ellos contrajeron nupcias el verano pasado.
They got married last summer.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'contrajeron' with an 'i' (contrajieron).
Correct: The correct form is 'contrajeron'.
Why: Verbs with a 'j' stem in the preterite drop the 'i' in the 'ellos' ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: contraigo
The present tense of contraer is irregular in the 'yo' form (contraigo), but follows regular -er patterns for the rest.
Imperfect
yo: contraía
The imperfect of contraer is completely regular: contraía, contraías, contraía.
Future
yo: contraeré
The future tense of contraer is regular: contraeré, contraerás, contraerá.
Conditional
yo: contraería
The conditional of contraer is regular: contraería, contraerías, contraería.
Present Subjunctive
yo: contraiga
The present subjunctive uses the 'contraig-' stem: contraiga, contraigas, contraiga.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: contrajera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'j' stem: contrajera, contrajeras, contrajera.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: contrae
The imperative uses 'contrae' for informal 'tú' and 'contraiga' for formal 'usted'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no contraigas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no contraigas, no contraiga.