creer Preterite Conjugation
creer — to think
The preterite of creer is irregular in the third person, where the 'i' changes to a 'y': creyó and creyeron.
creer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when someone suddenly 'believed' something at a specific moment or when a state of belief came to an end after a specific event.
Notes on creer in the Preterite
Because the stem 'cre-' ends in a vowel, the 'i' in the endings shifts to a 'y' for the él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes forms to avoid having three vowels in a row. Also, notice the written accents on all forms except the third person plural.
Example Sentences
Al principio no te creí.
At first, I didn't believe you.
yo
Ella creyó que la fiesta era hoy.
She thought the party was today.
él/ella/usted
Ellos no creyeron la noticia.
They didn't believe the news.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'creió' or 'creieron'.
Correct: The correct forms are 'creyó' and 'creyeron'.
Why: In Spanish, an unstressed 'i' between two vowels must change to a 'y'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: creo
The present tense of creer is regular: creo, crees, cree, creemos, creéis, creen.
Imperfect
yo: creía
The imperfect of creer is regular: creía, creías, creía, creíamos, creíais, creían.
Future
yo: creeré
The future tense of creer is regular: creeré, creerás, creerá, creeremos, creeréis, creerán.
Conditional
yo: creería
The conditional of creer is regular: creería, creerías, creería, creeríamos, creeríais, creerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: crea
The present subjunctive of creer is regular: crea, creas, crea, creamos, creáis, crean.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: creyera
The imperfect subjunctive of creer is irregular, using the 'y': creyera, creyeras, creyera, creyéramos, creyerais, creyeran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cree
The affirmative imperative of creer is: cree (tú), crea (usted), cread (vosotros), crean (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no creas
The negative imperative of creer uses the present subjunctive: no creas, no crea, no creamos, no creáis, no crean.