herir Preterite Conjugation
herir — to wound
The preterite of herir features a stem change (e > i) in the third-person forms: hirió and hirieron.
herir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe the specific moment someone was wounded or when someone's feelings were hurt in a completed past event.
Notes on herir in the Preterite
This is a 'slipper verb'. While most forms are regular, the third-person singular (él/ella) and plural (ellos/ellas) change the 'e' to 'i'.
Example Sentences
El soldado se hirió en la pierna.
The soldier wounded himself in the leg.
él/ella/usted
Tus palabras me hirieron profundamente.
Your words hurt me deeply.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Me herí con un cuchillo ayer.
I hurt myself with a knife yesterday.
yo
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'herió' instead of 'hirió'.
Correct: hirió
Why: -ir verbs with a stem change in the present usually change e > i in the preterite third-person.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: hiero
Herir is a stem-changing verb where the 'e' becomes 'ie' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: hería
Herir is regular in the imperfect: hería, herías, hería, heríamos, heríais, herían.
Future
yo: heriré
The future tense of herir is completely regular, using the full infinitive as the stem.
Conditional
yo: heriría
The conditional of herir is regular: heriría, herirías, heriría, heriríamos, heriríais, herirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: hiera
Herir has two stem changes in the subjunctive: 'ie' in most forms, and 'i' in nosotros/vosotros.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: hiriera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'hirier-' stem derived from the preterite third-person.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: hiere
The imperative uses 'hiere' (tú) and 'hiera' (usted), following the present stem changes.
Negative Imperative
yo: no hieras
Negative commands use the present subjunctive forms: no hieras, no hiera, no hiramos, no hiráis, no hieran.