elevar Preterite Conjugation
elevar — to lift
Use 'elevé', 'elevaste', 'elevó', 'elevamos', 'elevasteis', 'elevaron' for completed actions in the past.
elevar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for actions that started and finished at a specific point in the past. For 'elevar', this could be lifting something once: 'Elevé la caja ayer' (I lifted the box yesterday) or 'La empresa elevó sus ganancias el año pasado' (The company raised its profits last year).
Notes on elevar in the Preterite
Elevar is a regular -ar verb in the preterite. All the forms follow the standard pattern: é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron.
Example Sentences
Yo elevé la maleta con cuidado.
I lifted the suitcase carefully.
yo
¿Elevaste la bandera hoy?
Did you raise the flag today?
tú
Él elevó la vista hacia el cielo.
He lifted his gaze towards the sky.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros elevamos el precio la semana pasada.
We raised the price last week.
nosotros
Ellos elevaron una queja formal.
They submitted a formal complaint.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a single completed action.
Correct: For a specific, completed action like lifting something once, use the preterite: 'elevé', not 'elevaba'.
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions, while the preterite describes completed ones.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'elevó' and 'elevé'.
Correct: The third person singular ('elevó') and first person singular ('elevé') require accents.
Why: These accents are crucial for distinguishing these forms and indicating the stressed syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: elevo
Use 'elevo', 'elevas', 'eleva', 'elevamos', 'eleváis', 'elevan' for actions happening now or habitual actions.
Imperfect
yo: elevaba
Use 'elevaba', 'elevabas', 'elevaba', 'elevábamos', 'elevabais', 'elevaban' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: elevaré
Use 'elevaré', 'elevarás', 'elevará', 'elevarémos', 'elevaréis', 'elevarán' for future actions or probability.
Conditional
yo: elevaría
Use 'elevaría', 'elevarías', 'elevaría', 'elevaríamos', 'elevaríais', 'elevarían' for hypotheticals, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: eleve
Use 'eleve'/'eleves'/'elevemos'/'eleven'/'elevéis' after wishes, doubts, emotions, or impersonal expressions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: elevara
Use 'elevara'/'elevaras'/'eleváramos'/'elevaran'/'elevaraís' for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: eleva
Use 'eleva' (tú), 'eleve' (usted), 'elevemos' (nosotros), 'elevad' (vosotros), 'eleven' (ustedes) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no eleves
Use 'no eleves' (tú), 'no eleve' (usted), 'no elevemos' (nosotros), 'no elevéis' (vosotros), 'no eleven' (ustedes) for negative commands.