impulsar Preterite Conjugation
impulsar — to boost
The preterite of impulsar is regular: impulsé, impulsaste, impulsó, impulsamos, impulsasteis, impulsaron.
impulsar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to talk about a specific, completed action in the past that 'boosted' something. For example, 'He boosted the sales last month' or 'We boosted the signal yesterday.'
Notes on impulsar in the Preterite
Impulsar is fully regular in the preterite. The nosotros form 'impulsamos' is identical to the present indicative, so context is key to differentiate.
Example Sentences
Yo impulsé la campaña publicitaria.
I boosted the advertising campaign.
yo
¿Tú impulsaste el cambio?
Did you boost the change?
tú
Ella impulsó su carrera con ese proyecto.
She boosted her career with that project.
él/ella/usted
Los inversores impulsaron la startup.
The investors boosted the startup.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a single completed action.
Correct: Use 'impulsó' for a specific past boost, not 'impulsaba'.
Why: The preterite marks completed events, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting accents on 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms.
Correct: Write 'impulsé' and 'impulsó'.
Why: The accent marks the stressed syllable and distinguishes these forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: impulso
The present tense of impulsar is regular: impulso, impulsas, impulsa, impulsamos, impulsáis, impulsan.
Imperfect
yo: impulsaba
The imperfect of impulsar is regular: impulsaba, impulsabas, impulsaba, impulsábamos, impulsabais, impulsaban.
Future
yo: impulsaré
The future tense of impulsar is regular: impulsaré, impulsarás, impulsará, impulsaremos, impulsaréis, impulsarán.
Conditional
yo: impulsaría
The conditional of impulsar is regular: impulsaría, impulsarías, impulsaría, impulsaríamos, impulsaríais, impulsarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: impulse
The present subjunctive of impulsar (impulse, impulses, impulsemos, impulsen) expresses wishes, doubts, emotions, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: impulsara
The imperfect subjunctive of impulsar (impulsara/impulsarais/impulsaran) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: impulsa
The imperative of impulsar is mostly regular, with commands like impulsa (tú), impulse (usted), impulsemos (nosotros), impulsen (ustedes), and impulsad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no impulses
Negative commands for 'impulsar' use the present subjunctive with 'no': no impulses, no impulse, no impulsemos, no impulsen, no impulséis.