examinar Preterite Conjugation
examinar — to examine
The preterite of 'examinar' is regular: 'examiné', 'examinaste', 'examinó', 'examinamos', 'examinasteis', 'examinaron'.
examinar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'examinar' to talk about a specific, completed instance of examining something in the past. For example, 'Yesterday, I examined the report' or 'The doctor examined the patient last week.'
Notes on examinar in the Preterite
'Examinar' is a regular -ar verb and follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern perfectly.
Example Sentences
Ayer, examiné todos los documentos.
Yesterday, I examined all the documents.
yo
¿Examinaste la factura?
Did you examine the invoice?
tú
El profesor examinó el ensayo con atención.
The professor examined the essay carefully.
él/ella/usted
Examinaron el coche antes de comprarlo.
They examined the car before buying it.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a single completed action.
Correct: For a specific past examination, use 'examiné', not 'examinaba'.
Why: The preterite marks a completed action, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'yo' form.
Correct: The correct form is 'examiné', with an accent on the final 'e'.
Why: The accent distinguishes the preterite 'yo' form from other similar forms and indicates the stressed syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: examino
The present tense of 'examinar' is regular: 'examino', 'examinas', 'examina', 'examinamos', 'examináis', 'examinan'.
Imperfect
yo: examinaba
The imperfect of 'examinar' is regular: 'examinaba', 'examinabas', 'examinaba', 'examinábamos', 'examinabais', 'examinaban'.
Future
yo: examinaré
The future tense of 'examinar' is regular: 'examinaré', 'examinarás', 'examinará', 'examinaremos', 'examinaréis', 'examinarán'.
Conditional
yo: examinaría
The conditional of 'examinar' is regular: 'examinaría', 'examinarías', 'examinaría', 'examinaríamos', 'examinaríais', 'examinarían'.
Present Subjunctive
yo: examine
The present subjunctive of 'examinar' (examine, examines, examinezamos, etc.) expresses wishes, doubts, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: examinara
The imperfect subjunctive of 'examinar' (examinara, examinases, etc.) is used for past hypotheticals or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: examina
The imperative of 'examinar' has regular commands like 'examina' (tú) and 'examine' (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no examines
Negative commands for 'examinar' use the present subjunctive: 'no examines' (tú), 'no examine' (usted).