encontrar Preterite Conjugation
encontrar — to find
Encontrar is completely regular in the preterite; the o-to-ue stem change does not happen here.
encontrar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe the specific moment you found something or met someone by chance in the past.
Notes on encontrar in the Preterite
Unlike the present tense, encontrar is regular in the preterite. The stem remains 'encontr-' for all persons.
Example Sentences
Ayer encontré veinte euros en la calle.
Yesterday I found twenty euros in the street.
yo
¿Encontraste el libro que te presté?
Did you find the book I lent you?
tú
Por fin encontró un trabajo nuevo.
He finally found a new job.
él/ella/usted
Encontramos las llaves debajo del sofá.
We found the keys under the sofa.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: encuentré
Correct: encontré
Why: Learners mistakenly carry over the o-to-ue stem change from the present tense.
Mistake: encontro
Correct: encontró
Why: Missing the accent on the third-person singular changes the meaning to 'I find' (present tense).
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: encuentro
Encontrar undergoes an o-to-ue stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: encontraba
Encontrar is regular in the imperfect: encontraba, encontrabas, encontraba, encontrábamos, encontrabais, encontraban.
Future
yo: encontraré
The future of encontrar is regular: attach -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the full infinitive.
Conditional
yo: encontraría
The conditional of encontrar is regular: encontraría, encontrarías, encontraría, encontraríamos, encontraríais, encontrarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: encuentre
The present subjunctive of encontrar follows the o-to-ue stem change except for nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: encontrara
The imperfect subjunctive of encontrar is regular: encontrara, encontraras, encontrara, encontráramos, encontrarais, encontraran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: encuentra
The imperative of encontrar uses the stem-changed 'encuentra' for tú and 'encuentre' for usted.
Negative Imperative
yo: no encuentres
Negative commands use the present subjunctive forms: no encuentres, no encuentre, no encontremos.