cuidar Preterite Conjugation
cuidar — to take care of
Cuidar is regular in the preterite: cuidé, cuidaste, cuidó, cuidamos, cuidasteis, cuidaron.
cuidar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for specific past instances where you looked after someone or something, like a one-time babysitting job or a specific time you watched a friend's house.
Notes on cuidar in the Preterite
The verb is fully regular in this tense. Remember that the 'nosotros' form 'cuidamos' is the same as the present tense.
Example Sentences
Ayer cuidé al perro de mi vecino.
Yesterday I looked after my neighbor's dog.
yo
Ella cuidó de su madre durante la gripe.
She took care of her mother during the flu.
él/ella/usted
Ellos cuidaron las plantas mientras yo estaba de vacaciones.
They took care of the plants while I was on vacation.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: cuidio
Correct: cuidó
Why: Learners sometimes try to add an 'i' because of the 'ui' in the stem, but for -ar verbs, the third person ending is just 'ó'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: cuido
The present tense of cuidar is regular: cuido, cuidas, cuida, cuidamos, cuidáis, cuidan.
Imperfect
yo: cuidaba
The imperfect of cuidar follows the regular -aba pattern: cuidaba, cuidabas, cuidaba, cuidábamos.
Future
yo: cuidaré
The future of cuidar uses the infinitive plus standard endings: cuidaré, cuidarás, cuidará.
Conditional
yo: cuidaría
The conditional of cuidar is regular: cuidaría, cuidarías, cuidaría, cuidaríamos, cuidaríais, cuidarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: cuide
The present subjunctive of cuidar uses -e endings: cuide, cuides, cuide, cuidemos, cuidéis, cuiden.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: cuidara
The imperfect subjunctive of cuidar uses the preterite stem: cuidara, cuidaras, cuidara, cuidáramos.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: cuida
The imperative of cuidar provides direct commands: cuida (tú), cuidad (vosotros), cuide (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no cuides
The negative imperative of cuidar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no cuides, no cuide.