disminuir Preterite Conjugation
disminuir — to decrease
In the preterite, disminuir changes 'i' to 'y' in the third-person forms: disminuyó and disminuyeron.
disminuir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use this for a specific event where something dropped or decreased at a single point in time, like a sudden fall in temperature.
Notes on disminuir in the Preterite
The 'i' in the ending turns into a 'y' for 'usted/él/ella' and 'ustedes/ellos/ellas' because Spanish spelling avoids having an unaccented 'i' between two vowels.
Example Sentences
El ruido disminuyó después de la medianoche.
The noise decreased after midnight.
él/ella/usted
Ayer disminuí mi consumo de café.
Yesterday I decreased my coffee consumption.
yo
Las ventas disminuyeron drásticamente el mes pasado.
Sales decreased drastically last month.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: disminuio
Correct: disminuyó
Why: You must use a 'y' to separate the vowels; 'disminuio' is phonetically awkward in Spanish.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: disminuyo
Disminuir is irregular in the present tense, adding a 'y' before endings: disminuyo, disminuyes, disminuye, disminuyen.
Imperfect
yo: disminuía
Disminuir is regular in the imperfect: disminuía, disminuías, disminuía, disminuíamos, disminuíais, disminuían.
Future
yo: disminuiré
Disminuir is regular in the future: disminuiré, disminuirás, disminuirá, disminuiremos, disminuiréis, disminuirán.
Conditional
yo: disminuiría
The conditional of disminuir is regular: disminuiría, disminuirías, disminuiría, disminuiríamos, disminuiríais, disminuirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: disminuya
The present subjunctive follows the 'yo' form change, inserting a 'y': disminuya, disminuyas, disminuya, etc.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: disminuyera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'y' from the preterite: disminuyera, disminuyeras, disminuyera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: disminuye
Give commands to reduce or decrease: disminuye (tú), disminuya (usted), disminuid (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no disminuyas
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no disminuyas, no disminuya, no disminuyamos.