escoltar Preterite Conjugation
escoltar — to escort
The preterite of escoltar is regular: escolté, escoltaste, escoltó, escoltamos, escoltasteis, escoltaron.
escoltar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'escoltar' to talk about a specific instance when someone escorted someone else, and the action is completed. For example, 'He escorted me home yesterday' or 'They escorted the group to the exit'.
Notes on escoltar in the Preterite
Escolta is fully regular in the preterite tense. All the endings follow the standard pattern for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo escolté a mi abuela hasta su coche.
I escorted my grandmother to her car.
yo
¿Tú escoltaste a los invitados a la sala?
Did you escort the guests to the room?
tú
El guarda escoltó al director a la reunión.
The guard escorted the director to the meeting.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros escoltamos al artista hasta el camerino.
We escorted the artist to the dressing room.
nosotros
Ellos escoltaron a la delegación extranjera.
They escorted the foreign delegation.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a single escort action.
Correct: Use 'escolté' for a completed escort action, not 'escoltaba'.
Why: The preterite marks a completed action in the past, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'escoltó' (él/ella/usted) or 'escolté' (yo).
Correct: Remember the accent marks: 'escoltó' and 'escolté'.
Why: These accents are crucial for distinguishing these preterite forms and indicating the stressed syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: escolto
The present tense of escoltar (escolto, escoltas, escolta, etc.) describes actions happening now or habitual escorts.
Imperfect
yo: escoltaba
The imperfect of escoltar (escoltaba, escoltabas, etc.) describes ongoing or habitual past escorts.
Future
yo: escoltaré
The future tense of escoltar (escoltaré, escoltarás, etc.) is used for actions that will definitely happen.
Conditional
yo: escoltaría
The conditional of escoltar (escoltaría, escoltarías, etc.) expresses 'would' escort, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: escolte
The present subjunctive of escoltar (escolte, escoltes, etc.) is used for wishes, doubts, emotions, and after certain expressions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: escoltara
The imperfect subjunctive of escoltar, like escolta(ra/ras/ra/ramos/rais/ran), is used for hypothetical past situations or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: escolta
Use the imperative of escoltar for direct commands: escolta (tú), escolte (usted), escoltemos (nosotros), escolten (ustedes), escoltad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no escoltes
Negative commands for escoltar use the present subjunctive: no escoltes (tú), no escolte (usted), no escoltemos (nosotros), no escolten (ustedes), no escoltéis (vosotros).