cortar Preterite Conjugation
cortar — to cut
The preterite of cortar is regular: corté, cortaste, cortó, cortamos, cortasteis, cortaron.
cortar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a completed action of cutting that happened at a specific moment, such as when you accidentally cut your finger or finished cutting a piece of cake.
Notes on cortar in the Preterite
Cortar is fully regular in the preterite. Note that 'cortamos' is the same in both present and preterite; context is key.
Example Sentences
Ayer me corté el pelo en la peluquería.
Yesterday I cut my hair at the hair salon.
yo
Ellos cortaron la cinta en la inauguración.
They cut the ribbon at the inauguration.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
¿Tú cortaste el pan para el desayuno?
Did you cut the bread for breakfast?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on corté or cortó.
Correct: corté / cortó
Why: Without the accent, 'corté' could be confused with other sounds, and accents are required for the first and third person singular in the preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: corto
Cortar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense: corto, cortas, corta, cortamos, cortáis, cortan.
Imperfect
yo: cortaba
Cortar in the imperfect follows the regular -aba pattern: cortaba, cortabas, cortaba, cortábamos, cortabais, cortaban.
Future
yo: cortaré
The future of cortar is formed by adding endings to the infinitive: cortaré, cortarás, cortará, cortaremos, cortaréis, cortarán.
Conditional
yo: cortaría
The conditional of cortar uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: cortaría, cortarías, cortaría, cortaríamos, cortaríais, cortarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: corte
The present subjunctive of cortar uses -e endings: corte, cortes, corte, cortemos, cortéis, corten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cortara
The imperfect subjunctive of cortar is based on the 'ellos' preterite: cortara, cortaras, cortara, cortáramos, cortarais, cortaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: corta
The affirmative imperative of cortar gives direct commands: corta (tú), cortad (vosotros), corte(n) (usted/es).
Negative Imperative
yo: no cortes
The negative imperative of cortar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no cortes, no corte, no cortemos, no cortéis, no corten.