incitar Preterite Conjugation
incitar — to incite
The preterite of 'incitar' is regular: incité, incitaste, incitó, incitamos, incitasteis, incitaron.
incitar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'incitar' to talk about a specific instance where someone incited something in the past, and it's now completed. For example, inciting a protest that started and finished.
Notes on incitar in the Preterite
Incitrar is fully regular in the preterite tense. All forms follow the standard pattern for -ar verbs.
Example Sentences
El político incitó a sus seguidores a marchar.
The politician incited his followers to march.
él/ella/usted
Yo incité a mis amigos a ver la película.
I incited my friends to watch the movie.
yo
¿Tú incitaste el debate en la clase?
Did you incite the debate in class?
tú
Ellos incitaron a la rebelión.
They incited the rebellion.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'incitamos' (preterite) when the action is ongoing in the past, which requires the imperfect.
Correct: For a completed action, use 'incitamos'. If it was a habitual or ongoing action in the past, use 'incitábamos'.
Why: The preterite marks a single, completed event, while the imperfect describes duration or habit.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'incitó' for él/ella/usted.
Correct: The correct form is 'incitó'.
Why: The accent on the final 'o' is necessary to indicate the preterite tense and stress.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'incitar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: incito
The present tense 'incito' describes actions happening now, habits, or general truths.
Imperfect
yo: incitaba
The imperfect 'incitaba' describes ongoing or habitual past actions, setting the scene.
Future
yo: incitaré
The future tense 'incitaré' indicates actions that will happen or expresses probability.
Conditional
yo: incitaría
The conditional 'incitaría' expresses hypothetical actions ('would incite') or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: incite
The present subjunctive 'incite' is used for wishes, doubts, emotions, and recommendations.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: incitara
The imperfect subjunctive 'incitara' or 'incitase' expresses past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: incita
Commands like 'incita' (you, informal) and 'inciten' (you all, formal) are used for direct orders.
Negative Imperative
yo: no incites
Negative commands like 'no incites' (you, informal) and 'no inciten' (you all, formal) tell someone NOT to do something.