defraudar Preterite Conjugation
defraudar — to disappoint
Defraudar is regular in the preterite: defraudé, defraudaste, defraudó, defraudamos, defraudasteis, defraudaron.
defraudar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'defraudar' to talk about a specific instance where someone or something disappointed you or someone else. It emphasizes the completed action of causing disappointment at a particular moment.
Notes on defraudar in the Preterite
Defraudar is a regular -ar verb and follows the standard conjugation pattern for the preterite tense. There are no stem changes or spelling changes.
Example Sentences
El resultado final me defraudó por completo.
The final result disappointed me completely.
él/ella/usted
Ayer, mi amigo me defraudó al no venir.
Yesterday, my friend let me down by not coming.
él/ella/usted
Defraudamos a nuestros seguidores con esa actuación.
We disappointed our followers with that performance.
nosotros
¿Me defraudaste la semana pasada?
Did you let me down last week?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'defraudaba' instead of the preterite 'defraudó' for a single, completed act of disappointment.
Correct: Use 'defraudó' when the disappointment happened at a specific point in the past.
Why: The preterite marks completed actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'defraudó'.
Correct: The él/ella/usted form requires an accent: 'defraudó'.
Why: The accent is needed to indicate the stress falls on the final syllable and to distinguish it from other verb forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: defraudo
The present indicative of defraudar (defraudo, defraudas, etc.) means to disappoint habitually or currently.
Imperfect
yo: defraudaba
The imperfect of defraudar (defraudaba, defraudabas, etc.) describes past disappointment as ongoing or habitual.
Future
yo: defraudaré
The future of defraudar (defraudaré, etc.) indicates a future disappointment or probability.
Conditional
yo: defraudaría
The conditional of defraudar (defraudaría, etc.) is used for hypotheticals ('would disappoint') and polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: defraude
The present subjunctive of defraudar (defraude, defraudes, etc.) is used for wishes, doubts, and emotions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: defraudara
The imperfect subjunctive of defraudar (defraudara/defraudase) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or uncertainty.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: defrauda
The imperative of defraudar has regular commands for tú (defrauda) and vosotros (defraudad), and uses present subjunctive for others.
Negative Imperative
yo: no defraudes
Negative commands for defraudar use the present subjunctive, like 'no defraudes' (tú) and 'no defrauden' (ustedes).