contratar Preterite Conjugation
contratar — to hire
The preterite of contratar is regular: contraté, contrataste, contrató, contratamos, contratasteis, contrataron.
contratar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for completed hiring actions, such as when someone was officially signed or a specific service was booked.
Notes on contratar in the Preterite
Contratar is fully regular. Note that 'contratamos' is the same in both present and preterite; look for time markers like 'ayer' to tell them apart.
Example Sentences
Contraté a un abogado ayer.
I hired a lawyer yesterday.
yo
La empresa contrató a diez empleados.
The company hired ten employees.
él/ella/usted
¿Contrataste el seguro de viaje?
Did you take out (hire) the travel insurance?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: contrato (without accent) for the past tense.
Correct: contrató
Why: Without the accent, 'contrato' means 'I hire' or 'contract'. The accent on the 'ó' is essential for the third-person past tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: contrato
The present tense of contratar is regular: contrato, contratas, contrata, contratamos, contratáis, contratan.
Imperfect
yo: contrataba
The imperfect of contratar is regular: contrataba, contratabas, contrataba, contratábamos, contratabais, contrataban.
Future
yo: contrataré
The future of contratar is regular: contrataré, contratarás, contratará, contrataremos, contrataréis, contratarán.
Conditional
yo: contrataría
The conditional of contratar is regular: contrataría, contratarías, contrataría, contrataríamos, contrataríais, contratarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: contrate
The present subjunctive of contratar is regular: contrate, contrates, contrate, contratemos, contratéis, contraten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: contratara
The imperfect subjunctive of contratar uses the -ra endings: contratara, contrataras, contratara, contratáramos, contratarais, contrataran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: contrata
The affirmative imperative commands are: contrata (tú), contrate (usted), contratad (vosotros), contraten (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no contrates
The negative imperative uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no contrates, no contrate, no contratemos, no contratéis, no contraten.