
familiarizar Preterite Conjugation
familiarizar — to familiarize
Familiarizar is regular except for the 'yo' form, which changes Z to C: familiaricé.
familiarizar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a completed event of getting used to something at a specific point in time, like 'Yesterday, I familiarized myself with the map'.
Notes on familiarizar in the Preterite
Only the 'yo' form is irregular (familiaricé) to maintain the soft 'c' sound. All other forms follow the regular -ar pattern (familiarizaste, familiarizó, etc.).
Example Sentences
Me familiaricé con la ciudad en una semana.
I familiarized myself with the city in a week.
yo
¿Te familiarizaste con el nuevo sistema ayer?
Did you familiarize yourself with the new system yesterday?
tú
Ellos se familiarizaron con el entorno rápidamente.
They familiarized themselves with the environment quickly.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: familiarizé
Correct: familiaricé
Why: A 'z' cannot precede an 'e' in Spanish; it must change to a 'c' to keep the spelling rules consistent.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'familiarizar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: familiarizo
The present tense is fully regular: familiarizo, familiarizas, familiariza, familiarizamos, familiarizáis, familiarizan.
Imperfect
yo: familiarizaba
The imperfect is regular: familiarizaba, familiarizabas, familiarizaba, familiarizábamos, familiarizabais, familiarizaban.
Future
yo: familiarizaré
The future tense is regular, adding endings to the infinitive: familiarizaré, familiarizarás, familiarizará...
Conditional
yo: familiarizaría
The conditional is regular: familiarizaría, familiarizarías, familiarizaría, familiarizaríamos, familiarizaríais, familiarizarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: familiarice
Familiarizar undergoes a Z to C spelling change in all forms: familiarice, familiarices, familiarice, familiaricemos, familiaricéis, familiaricen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: familiarizara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular: familiarizara, familiarizaras, familiarizara, familiarizáramos, familiarizarais, familiarizaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: familiariza
Use 'familiariza' (tú) or 'familiarice' (usted). Remember the Z to C change for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no familiarices
All negative commands for familiarizar use the Z to C spelling change: no familiarices, no familiarice...