existir Preterite Conjugation
existir — to exist
The preterite of existir is regular: existí, exististe, existió, existimos, exististeis, existieron.
existir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to talk about something that existed during a specific, completed period of time in the past, or to note the moment something came into existence.
Notes on existir in the Preterite
Existir is regular in the preterite. Note that the 'nosotros' form (existimos) is identical to the present tense form.
Example Sentences
Ese país solo existió por diez años.
That country only existed for ten years.
él/ella/usted
Nunca existieron pruebas del crimen.
Evidence of the crime never existed.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Yo existí en una época muy diferente.
I existed in a very different era.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing existimos (present) with existimos (past).
Correct: Look for context clues like 'ayer' or 'ahora'.
Why: Since the forms are identical, learners often struggle to identify the tense without surrounding temporal markers.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: existo
Existir is a regular -ir verb in the present tense: existo, existes, existe, existimos, existís, existen.
Imperfect
yo: existía
Existir is regular in the imperfect: existía, existías, existía, existíamos, existíais, existían.
Future
yo: existiré
The future of existir uses the infinitive as the stem: existir + é, ás, á, emos, éis, án.
Conditional
yo: existiría
The conditional of existir is regular: existiría, existirías, existiría, existiríamos, existiríais, existirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: exista
The present subjunctive of existir uses the 'a' endings: exista, existas, exista, existamos, existáis, existan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: existiera
The imperfect subjunctive of existir is based on the preterite stem: existiera, existieras, existiera, existiéramos.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: existe
The imperative of existir is used for commands: existe, exista, existamos, existid, existan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no existas
The negative imperative of existir matches the present subjunctive: no existas, no exista, no existamos, no existáis, no existan.