embarcar Preterite Conjugation
embarcar — to board
Embarcar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes 'c' to 'qu': embarqué, embarcaste, embarcó, embarcamos, embarcasteis, embarcaron.
embarcar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a completed action of boarding at a specific point in time, like 'I boarded the plane at 5 PM'.
Notes on embarcar in the Preterite
Only the 'yo' form is irregular (embarqué) to preserve the hard 'k' sound. All other forms follow the standard -ar preterite pattern.
Example Sentences
Embarqué en el vuelo de las diez.
I boarded the ten o'clock flight.
yo
¿A qué hora embarcaste ayer?
What time did you board yesterday?
tú
Los pasajeros embarcaron hace media hora.
The passengers boarded half an hour ago.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: embarcé
Correct: embarqué
Why: Writing 'embarcé' would change the pronunciation to 'em-bar-SE'. The 'qu' is needed for the 'k' sound.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: embarco
Embarcar is completely regular in the present tense: embarco, embarcas, embarca, embarcamos, embarcáis, embarcan.
Imperfect
yo: embarcaba
The imperfect of embarcar is regular: embarcaba, embarcabas, embarcaba, embarcábamos, embarcabais, embarcaban.
Future
yo: embarcaré
The future of embarcar is regular: embarcaré, embarcarás, embarcará, embarcaremos, embarcaréis, embarcarán.
Conditional
yo: embarcaría
The conditional of embarcar is regular: embarcaría, embarcarías, embarcaría, embarcaríamos, embarcaríais, embarcarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: embarque
Embarcar follows the c to qu spelling change to keep the 'k' sound: embarque, embarques, embarque, embarquemos, embarquéis, embarquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: embarcara
The imperfect subjunctive of embarcar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: embarcara, embarcaras, embarcara, embarcáramos, embarcarais, embarcaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: embarca
Give commands to board: embarca (tú), embarque (usted), embarquemos (nosotros), embarcad (vosotros), embarquen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no embarques
Negative commands use the present subjunctive forms: no embarques, no embarque, no embarquemos, no embarquéis, no embarquen.