faltar Preterite Conjugation
faltar — to be missing
The preterite of faltar is regular: falté, faltaste, faltó, faltamos, faltasteis, faltaron.
faltar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to mention a specific time someone was absent or when something was missing for a completed period of time.
Notes on faltar in the Preterite
Faltar is regular in the preterite. Remember the accent on the 'é' for the first person and 'ó' for the third person.
Example Sentences
Ayer falté a la oficina.
Yesterday I was absent from the office.
yo
Faltó sal en la sopa.
The soup was missing salt.
él/ella/usted
Ellos faltaron a la cita.
They missed the appointment.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing 'faltamos' (past) with 'faltamos' (present).
Correct: Use context clues like 'ayer' or 'ahora'.
Why: The nosotros form is identical in the present and preterite for -ar verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: falto
Faltar is regular in the present tense: falto, faltas, falta, faltamos, faltáis, faltan.
Imperfect
yo: faltaba
Faltar follows the standard -aba pattern for the imperfect: faltaba, faltabas, faltaba, faltábamos, faltabais, faltaban.
Future
yo: faltaré
To form the future of faltar, add endings to the infinitive: faltaré, faltarás, faltará, faltaremos, faltaréis, faltarán.
Conditional
yo: faltaría
The conditional of faltar uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: faltaría, faltarías, faltaría, faltaríamos, faltaríais, faltarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: falte
The present subjunctive of faltar uses -e endings: falte, faltes, falte, faltemos, faltéis, falten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: faltara
The imperfect subjunctive of faltar is formed from the 'ellos' preterite: faltara, faltaras, faltara, faltáramos, faltarais, faltaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: falta
The imperative of faltar uses standard -ar commands: falta (tú), faltad (vosotros), falte (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no faltes
The negative imperative of faltar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no faltes, no falte, no faltemos, no faltéis, no falten.