dificultar Preterite Conjugation
dificultar — to make difficult
Dificultar is regular in the preterite: dificulté, dificultaste, dificultó, dificultamos, dificultasteis, dificultaron.
dificultar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'dificultar' to talk about a specific instance in the past where something or someone made a situation difficult, and it was a completed action. For example, 'The rain *made* the game difficult'.
Notes on dificultar in the Preterite
Dificultar is a regular -ar verb and follows all standard conjugation patterns in the preterite tense. No changes are needed.
Example Sentences
La falta de tiempo dificultó nuestro progreso.
The lack of time made our progress difficult.
él/ella/usted
Ayer dificultamos la tarea para los estudiantes nuevos.
Yesterday we made the task difficult for the new students.
nosotros
¿Dificultaste la conversación a propósito?
Did you make the conversation difficult on purpose?
tú
Las condiciones climáticas dificultaron la operación.
The weather conditions made the operation difficult.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'dificultaba' instead of the preterite 'dificultó' for a single past event.
Correct: For a specific, completed action like 'The rain made it difficult', use the preterite: 'La lluvia dificultó'.
Why: The preterite marks completed actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'ó' in the él/ella/usted form.
Correct: The form is 'dificultó', not 'dificulto'.
Why: The accent is necessary to indicate the stressed syllable in this preterite form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: dificulto
Dificultar is regular in the present tense: dificulto, dificultas, dificulta, dificultamos, dificultáis, dificultan.
Imperfect
yo: dificultaba
The imperfect of dificultar is regular: dificultaba, dificultabas, dificultaba, dificultábamos, dificultabais, dificultaban.
Future
yo: dificultaré
The future tense of dificultar is regular: dificultaré, dificultarás, dificultará, dificultaremos, dificultaréis, dificultarán.
Conditional
yo: dificultaría
The conditional of dificultar is regular: dificultaría, dificultarías, dificultaría, dificultaríamos, dificultaríais, dificultarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: dificulte
The present subjunctive 'dificulte', 'dificultemos', etc., follows expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, and uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: dificultara
The imperfect subjunctive forms like 'dificultara' or 'dificultase' are used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: dificulta
Use 'dificulta' (tú), 'dificulte' (usted), 'dificultemos' (nosotros), 'dificultad' (vosotros), 'dificulten' (ustedes) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no dificultes
Use 'no dificultes' (tú), 'no dificulte' (usted), 'no dificultemos' (nosotros), 'no dificultéis' (vosotros), 'no dificulten' (ustedes), all based on the present subjunctive.