descontar Preterite Conjugation
descontar — to deduct
Descontar is completely regular in the preterite: desconté, descontaste, descontó...
descontar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a specific instance where money was taken off a bill or a point was deducted during a game.
Notes on descontar in the Preterite
Unlike the present tense, there is no stem change in the preterite. The 'o' remains an 'o' throughout.
Example Sentences
El cajero me descontó el cupón.
The cashier deducted the coupon for me.
él/ella/usted
Ayer descontamos diez puntos al equipo rival.
Yesterday we deducted ten points from the rival team.
nosotros
¿Me descontaste el dinero que te debía?
Did you deduct the money I owed you?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'descuentó' with a stem change.
Correct: descontó
Why: Stem-changing -ar verbs like descontar do not change their stem in the preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: descuento
Descontar has an o-ue stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: descontaba
Descontar is regular in the imperfect: descontaba, descontabas, descontaba...
Future
yo: descontaré
Descontar is regular in the future: descontaré, descontarás, descontará...
Conditional
yo: descontaría
Descontar is regular in the conditional: descontaría, descontarías, descontaría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: descuente
The present subjunctive follows the o-ue change: descuente, descuentes, descuente...
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: descontara
Uses the preterite stem 'descontar-' plus -ara: descontara, descontaras...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: descuenta
Commands for descontar: descuenta (tú), descuente (usted), descontad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no descuentes
Negative commands use 'no' + present subjunctive: no descuentes, no descuente...