decorar Preterite Conjugation
decorar — to decorate
Use 'decoré' (yo) and 'decoró' (él/ella/usted) for completed actions of decorating in the past.
decorar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
The preterite is for actions of decorating that started and finished at a specific point in the past. Think 'I decorated the room yesterday' or 'They decorated the entire house last year.'
Notes on decorar in the Preterite
Decorar is a regular -ar verb in the preterite tense. All the forms follow the standard pattern.
Example Sentences
Yo decoré la cocina con cuadros nuevos.
I decorated the kitchen with new paintings.
yo
¿Tú decoraste el árbol de Navidad?
Did you decorate the Christmas tree?
tú
Ella decoró su dormitorio con luces de colores.
She decorated her bedroom with colorful lights.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros decoramos la oficina para la fiesta.
We decorated the office for the party.
nosotros
Ellos decoraron el salón de actos.
They decorated the auditorium.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect tense instead of the preterite.
Correct: Use 'decoré' or 'decoró' for a single, finished decorating event, not 'decoraba' or 'decoraba'.
Why: The preterite marks a completed action with a definite beginning and end, whereas the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual actions in the past.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms.
Correct: The correct forms are 'decoré' and 'decoró'.
Why: The accents are crucial for pronunciation and to distinguish these forms from other tenses (like the present 'decoro' or the nosotros preterite 'decoramos').
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: decoro
Use 'decoro' (yo) and 'decoran' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for current, habitual, or general decorating actions.
Imperfect
yo: decoraba
Use 'decoraba' (yo/él/ella/usted) and 'decoraban' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for ongoing or habitual decorating in the past.
Future
yo: decoraré
Use 'decoraré' (yo) and 'decorarán' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for actions that will happen in the future.
Conditional
yo: decoraría
Use 'decoraría' (yo/él/ella/usted) and 'decorarían' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for hypothetical situations ('would decorate').
Present Subjunctive
yo: decore
Use 'decore' (yo/él/ella/usted) and 'decoren' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) after expressions of doubt, desire, or emotion.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: decorara
Use 'decorara' or 'decorase' for past hypothetical situations or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: decora
Use 'decora' (tú) and 'decoren' (ustedes) for direct commands to decorate.
Negative Imperative
yo: no decores
Use 'no decores' (tú) and 'no decoren' (ustedes) for negative commands.