decaer Preterite Conjugation
decaer — to decline
The preterite of decaer features a 'y' in the third person: decaí, decaíste, decayó, decaímos, decaísteis, decayeron.
decaer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a specific moment in the past when something suddenly declined or lost strength.
Notes on decaer in the Preterite
The 3rd person singular (decayó) and plural (decayeron) change 'i' to 'y'. Also, the 'i' in the other endings carries an accent mark (decaí, decaíste).
Example Sentences
Su salud decayó rápidamente el año pasado.
His health declined rapidly last year.
él/ella/usted
Las acciones decayeron tras la noticia.
The stocks fell after the news.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Ayer decaí un poco por el cansancio.
Yesterday I felt a bit down due to exhaustion.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'decaio' instead of 'decayó'.
Correct: decayó
Why: The 'i' becomes a 'y' to prevent three vowels from being together in a way that breaks spelling rules.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: decaigo
The present of decaer is mostly regular, except for the 'yo' form: decaigo.
Imperfect
yo: decaía
The imperfect of decaer is regular for -er verbs: decaía, decaías, decaía, decaíamos, decaíais, decaían.
Future
yo: decaeré
The future of decaer is regular: decaeré, decaerás, decaerá, decaeremos, decaeréis, decaerán.
Conditional
yo: decaería
The conditional of decaer is regular: decaería, decaerías, decaería, decaeríamos, decaeríais, decaerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: decaiga
The present subjunctive of decaer adds a 'g' to the stem: decaiga, decaigas, decaiga, decaigamos, decaigáis, decaigan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: decayera
The imperfect subjunctive of decaer uses the 'y' stem: decayera, decayeras, decayéramos.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: decae
The imperative of decaer uses the 'g' stem for formal commands: decae, decaiga, decaigamos, decaed, decaigan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no decaigas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no decaigas, no decaiga, no decaigamos, no decaigáis, no decaigan.