doblar Preterite Conjugation
doblar — to fold
The preterite of 'doblar' is regular: doblé, doblaste, dobló, doblamos, doblasteis, doblaron.
doblar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to talk about a specific, completed action of folding in the past. For example, 'I folded the clothes yesterday' or 'She folded the letter and put it in the envelope.'
Notes on doblar in the Preterite
'Doblar' is a regular -ar verb and is completely regular in the preterite tense. All forms follow the standard -ar preterite endings.
Example Sentences
Doblé la ropa sucia y la puse en la cesta.
I folded the dirty clothes and put them in the basket.
yo
¿Doblaste el mapa antes de guardarlo?
Did you fold the map before putting it away?
tú
Él dobló el documento por la mitad.
He folded the document in half.
él/ella/usted
Ellos doblaron las servilletas para la cena.
They folded the napkins for the dinner.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'doblaba' instead of the preterite 'dobló' for a single completed action.
Correct: Use 'dobló' to say he folded it once, not 'doblaba'.
Why: The preterite is for 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 correct form is 'dobló', with an accent on the 'ó'.
Why: The accent on the final syllable distinguishes the preterite él/ella/usted form from other similar-looking forms and indicates stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: doblo
The present tense 'doblo' is regular and used for current actions, habits, and general truths.
Imperfect
yo: doblaba
The imperfect of 'doblar' is regular: doblaba, doblabas, doblaba, doblábamos, doblabais, doblaban.
Future
yo: doblaré
The future tense 'doblaré' is regular and indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: doblaría
The conditional 'doblaría' is regular and used for hypotheticals ('would') and polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: doble
The present subjunctive 'doble' is used after expressions of doubt, emotion, or desire.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: doblara
The imperfect subjunctive 'doblara' or 'doblará' describes hypothetical past actions or is used in polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: dobla
Use 'dobla' (tú) and 'doble' (usted) for direct commands; 'doblad' (vosotros) and 'doblen' (ustedes) for plural commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no dobles
Use 'no dobles' (tú), 'no doble' (usted), 'no doblen' (ustedes), and 'no dobléis' (vosotros) for negative commands.