incriminar Preterite Conjugation
incriminar — to incriminate
The preterite of incriminar is regular: incriminé, incriminaste, incriminó, incriminamos, incriminasteis, incriminaron.
incriminar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific, completed action of incriminating someone in the past. It focuses on the act as a whole, with a clear beginning and end.
Notes on incriminar in the Preterite
Incriminar is regular in the preterite tense. All forms follow the standard -ar verb conjugation pattern.
Example Sentences
El testigo lo incriminó directamente.
The witness incriminated him directly.
él/ella/usted
Yo no te incriminé, ¡lo juro!
I didn't incriminate you, I swear!
yo
¿Ustedes incriminaron al sospechoso?
Did you all incriminate the suspect?
Ella se incriminó al mentir sobre su paradero.
She incriminated herself by lying about her whereabouts.
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite: 'El testigo me incriminaba'.
Correct: For a specific, completed act of incriminating, use the preterite: 'El testigo me incriminó'.
Why: The preterite marks a single, finished event, while the imperfect describes an ongoing or habitual past action.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'yo' or 'él/ella/usted' forms: 'incrimine'.
Correct: The correct forms are 'incriminé' (yo) and 'incriminó' (él/ella/usted).
Why: The written accent is crucial for distinguishing these preterite forms and indicating the stressed syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: incrimino
The present tense of incriminar is regular: incrimino, incriminas, incrimina, incriminamos, incrimináis, incriminan.
Imperfect
yo: incriminaba
The imperfect of incriminar is regular: incriminaba, incriminabas, incriminaba, incriminábamos, incriminabais, incriminaban.
Future
yo: incriminaré
The future tense of incriminar is regular: incriminaré, incriminarás, incriminará, incriminaremos, incriminaréis, incriminarán.
Conditional
yo: incriminaría
The conditional of incriminar is regular: incriminaría, incriminarías, incriminaría, incriminaríamos, incriminaríais, incriminarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: incrimine
The present subjunctive of incriminar is used after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty: incrimine, incriminemos, incriminen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: incriminara
The imperfect subjunctive of incriminar (both -ra and -se forms) describes past hypotheticals or wishes, like 'incriminara' or 'incriminase'.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: incrimina
The imperative of incriminar is: incrimina (tú), incrimine (usted), incriminemos (nosotros), incriminen (ustedes), incrimina(d) (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no incrimines
The negative imperative of incriminar uses the present subjunctive: no incrimine (usted), no incriminemos (nosotros), no incriminen (ustedes), no incrimines (tú), no incriminéis (vosotros).