echar Preterite Conjugation
echar — to throw
The preterite of echar is regular: eché, echaste, echó, echamos, echasteis, echaron.
echar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for completed actions, such as when you threw something away yesterday or when someone was fired (echar del trabajo) at a specific moment.
Notes on echar in the Preterite
Echar is regular in the preterite. Remember the accent marks on the 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms to keep the stress on the final syllable.
Example Sentences
Eché la carta al buzón esta mañana.
I dropped the letter in the mailbox this morning.
yo
Él me echó una mano con las maletas.
He gave me a hand with the suitcases.
él/ella/usted
Echamos a correr cuando empezó a llover.
We started running when it began to rain.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'echamos' only for the present.
Correct: echamos
Why: The nosotros form is the same in both present and preterite; use context clues like 'ayer' to distinguish them.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: echo
The present tense of echar is fully regular: echo, echas, echa, echamos, echáis, echan.
Imperfect
yo: echaba
Echar follows the regular -aba pattern in the imperfect: echaba, echabas, echaba, echábamos, echabais, echaban.
Future
yo: echaré
The future of echar uses the infinitive as the stem: echaré, echarás, echará, echaremos, echaréis, echarán.
Conditional
yo: echaría
The conditional of echar is regular: echaría, echarías, echaría, echaríamos, echaríais, echarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: eche
The present subjunctive of echar switches to 'e' endings: eche, eches, eche, echemos, echéis, echen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: echara
The imperfect subjunctive of echar is regular: echara, echaras, echara, echáramos, echarais, echaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: echa
The affirmative imperative of echar uses echa (tú) and echad (vosotros), with eche/echen for formal use.
Negative Imperative
yo: no eches
The negative imperative of echar uses the present subjunctive: no eches, no eche, no echemos, no echéis, no echen.