impedir Preterite Conjugation
impedir — to prevent
Impedir is irregular in the preterite, changing the 'e' to 'i' in the third-person forms: impidió and impidieron.
impedir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific moment when someone or something successfully blocked or prevented an action from happening in the past.
Notes on impedir in the Preterite
This is a 'slipper verb' (ir-stem changer). The 'e' changes to 'i' only in the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) and third-person plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Example Sentences
La lluvia impidió que saliéramos a caminar.
The rain prevented us from going out for a walk.
él/ella/usted
Impedí que el niño cruzara la calle solo.
I prevented the child from crossing the street alone.
yo
Los guardias impidieron la entrada al edificio.
The guards prevented entry to the building.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Ellos impedieron.
Correct: Ellos impidieron.
Why: In the preterite, -ir stem-changers must use 'i' in the third-person plural.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: impido
Impedir is an e>i stem-changing verb in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: impedía
Impedir is regular in the imperfect: impedía, impedías, impedía, impedíamos, impedíais, impedían.
Future
yo: impediré
Impedir is regular in the future: just add the endings to the full infinitive.
Conditional
yo: impediría
The conditional of impedir is regular: impediría, impedirías, impediría, impediríamos, impediríais, impedirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: impida
Impedir changes 'e' to 'i' in all forms of the present subjunctive, including nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: impidiera
Based on the 'ellos' preterite, the stem is 'impidier-'.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: impide
Use 'impide' for tú and 'impida' for usted; remember the stem change.
Negative Imperative
yo: no impidas
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no impidas, no impida, no impidamos.