
fallecer Preterite Conjugation
fallecer — to pass away
The preterite of fallecer is regular: fallecí, falleciste, falleció, fallecimos, fallecisteis, fallecieron.
fallecer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to report the specific moment or date someone passed away. It is the standard tense for obituaries and news reports.
Notes on fallecer in the Preterite
Fallecer is completely regular in the preterite. It follows the standard -er endings.
Example Sentences
El autor falleció el año pasado.
The author passed away last year.
él/ella/usted
Sus abuelos fallecieron hace mucho tiempo.
Their grandparents passed away a long time ago.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Fallecí un poco por dentro cuando me dio la noticia.
I died a little inside when he gave me the news.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'fallezió' or 'fallecio' without an accent.
Correct: falleció
Why: The third-person singular needs the accent on the 'ó' to indicate the past tense; otherwise, it is mispronounced.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: fallezco
The present tense of fallecer is irregular in the 'yo' form: fallezco.
Imperfect
yo: fallecía
The imperfect of fallecer is regular: fallecía, fallecías, fallecía, fallecíamos, fallecíais, fallecían.
Future
yo: falleceré
The future of fallecer is regular: falleceré, fallecerás, fallecerá, falleceremos, falleceréis, fallecerán.
Conditional
yo: fallecería
The conditional of fallecer is regular: fallecería, fallecerías, fallecería, falleceríamos, falleceríais, fallecerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: fallezca
The present subjunctive of fallecer uses the 'fallezc-' stem: fallezca, fallezcas, fallezca...
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: falleciera
The imperfect subjunctive of fallecer is regular based on the preterite: falleciera, fallecieras, falleciera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: fallece
The imperative of fallecer is rare but uses the 'fallezc-' stem for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no fallezcas
The negative imperative of fallecer uses 'no' + present subjunctive: no fallezca, no fallezcan.