despreciar Preterite Conjugation
despreciar — to look down on
The preterite of despreciar is regular: desprecié, despreciaste, despreció, despreciamos, despreciasteis, despreciaron.
despreciar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for completed actions in the past. If you looked down on someone at a specific moment and then stopped, the preterite 'despreciaste' or 'despreció' fits.
Notes on despreciar in the Preterite
Despreciar is fully regular in the preterite. The nosotros form 'despreciamos' is identical to the present indicative; context distinguishes them.
Example Sentences
Yo desprecié sus excusas la semana pasada.
I looked down on his excuses last week.
yo
¿Tú despreciaste su consejo?
Did you look down on his advice?
tú
Ella despreció la oferta porque era muy baja.
She looked down on the offer because it was too low.
él/ella/usted
Los críticos despreciaron la película.
The critics looked down on the movie.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect ('despreciaba') for a single completed action.
Correct: For a specific instance, use 'despreció', not 'despreciaba'.
Why: Preterite is for completed actions; imperfect is for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'despreció' (él/ella/usted).
Correct: The accent on the 'o' is required: 'despreció'.
Why: The accent distinguishes this form from other similar-looking verb forms and marks stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: desprecio
The present tense of despreciar (desprecio, desprecias, desprecia...) describes current actions or habits.
Imperfect
yo: despreciaba
The imperfect of despreciar (despreciaba, despreciabas...) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: despreciaré
The future tense of despreciar (despreciaré, despreciarás...) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: despreciaría
The conditional of despreciar (despreciaría, despreciarías...) expresses 'would' actions or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: desprecie
Use 'desprecie' (yo/él/ella/Ud.) and 'desprecien' (ellos/ellas/Uds.) after wishes, doubts, and emotions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: despreciara
The imperfect subjunctive of despreciar (e.g., despreciara, despreciaras) is used for past hypotheticals and wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: desprecia
Use 'desprecia' (tú) and 'desprecien' (ustedes) for direct commands with despreciar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no desprecies
Negative commands for despreciar use the present subjunctive: 'no desprecies', 'no desprecien'.