empeñar Preterite Conjugation
empeñar — to pawn
Use 'empeñé', 'empeñaste', 'empeñó', 'empeñamos', 'empeñasteis', 'empeñaron' for completed past actions.
empeñar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
The preterite is used for actions that started and finished at a specific point in the past. For 'empeñar', this could be the act of pawning an item or the moment someone committed to something.
Notes on empeñar in the Preterite
'Empeñar' is a regular -ar verb and follows the standard conjugation pattern in the preterite tense.
Example Sentences
Ayer empeñé mi guitarra para pagar el alquiler.
Yesterday I pawned my guitar to pay the rent.
yo
¿Empeñaste tus promesas?
Did you keep your promises?
tú
Él empeñó su palabra de honor.
He gave his word of honor.
él/ella/usted
Ellos empeñaron todo lo que tenían.
They pawned everything they had.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'empeñaba' instead of the preterite 'empeñé' for a single, completed action.
Correct: For a specific, completed action like pawning an item yesterday, use the preterite: 'empeñé'.
Why: The preterite marks a finished event, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'empeñó' and 'empeñé'.
Correct: The él/ella/usted form is 'empeñó' and the yo form is 'empeñé', both requiring an accent.
Why: The accent indicates the stress on the final syllable for these preterite forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: empeño
Use 'empeño', 'empeñas', 'empeña', 'empeñamos', 'empeñáis', 'empeñan' for actions happening now, habits, or general truths.
Imperfect
yo: empeñaba
Use 'empeñaba', 'empeñabas', 'empeñaba', 'empeñábamos', 'empeñabais', 'empeñaban' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: empeñaré
Use 'empeñaré', 'empeñarás', 'empeñará', 'empeñaremos', 'empeñaréis', 'empeñarán' for future actions or probability.
Conditional
yo: empeñaría
Use 'empeñaría', 'empeñarías', 'empeñaría', 'empeñaríamos', 'empeñaríais', 'empeñarían' for hypotheticals, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: empeñe
Use 'empeñe' (yo/él/ella/usted), 'empeñes' (tú), 'empeñemos' (nosotros), 'empeñéis' (vosotros), 'empeñen' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: empeñara
Use 'empeñara'/'empeñase' (yo/él/ella/usted), 'empeñaras'/'empeñases' (tú), 'empeñáramos'/'empeñásemos' (nosotros), 'empeñarais'/'empeñaseis' (vosotros), 'empeñaran'/'empeñasen' (ellos/ellas/ustedes) for past hypotheticals or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: empeña
Use 'empeña' (tú), 'empeñe' (usted), 'empeñemos' (nosotros), 'empeñen' (ustedes), or 'empeñad' (vosotros) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no empeñes
Use 'no empeñes' (tú), 'no empeñe' (usted), 'no empeñemos' (nosotros), 'no empeñen' (ustedes), or 'no empeñéis' (vosotros) for negative commands.