empacar Preterite Conjugation
empacar — to pack
The preterite of empacar is regular except for the 'yo' form: empaqué, empacaste, empacó, empacamos, empacasteis, empacaron.
empacar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a completed action of packing at a specific time in the past.
Notes on empacar in the Preterite
There is a spelling change in the 'yo' form (empaqué) to preserve the hard 'k' sound. The other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Empaqué mis maletas anoche.
I packed my bags last night.
yo
¿Empacaste el bloqueador solar?
Did you pack the sunscreen?
tú
Nosotros empacamos todo en media hora.
We packed everything in half an hour.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: empacé
Correct: empaqué
Why: In Spanish, 'c' before 'e' sounds like 's'. To keep the 'k' sound from the infinitive, you must use 'qu'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: empaco
The present tense of empacar is fully regular: empaco, empacas, empaca, empacamos, empacáis, empacan.
Imperfect
yo: empacaba
The imperfect of empacar is regular: empacaba, empacabas, empacaba, empacábamos, empacabais, empacaban.
Future
yo: empacaré
The future tense of empacar is regular: empacaré, empacarás, empacará, empacaremos, empacaréis, empacarán.
Conditional
yo: empacaría
The conditional of empacar is regular: empacaría, empacarías, empacaría, empacaríamos, empacaríais, empacarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: empaque
The present subjunctive of empacar features a c-to-qu spelling change: empaque, empaques, empaque, empaquemos, empaquéis, empaquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: empacara
The imperfect subjunctive of empacar is regular: empacara, empacaras, empacara, empacáramos, empacarais, empacaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: empaca
The affirmative imperative forms for empacar are: empaca (tú), empaque (usted), empaquemos (nosotros), empacad (vosotros), empaquen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no empaques
The negative imperative of empacar uses subjunctive forms with a c-to-qu change: no empaques, no empaque, no empaquemos, no empaquéis, no empaquen.