inflar Preterite Conjugation
inflar — to inflate
The preterite of 'inflar' is regular: inflé, inflaste, infló, inflamos, inflasteis, inflaron, for completed past actions.
inflar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'inflar' to talk about a specific, completed action of inflating something in the past. For example, 'I inflated the ball yesterday' or 'They inflated the tires last week'.
Notes on inflar in the Preterite
'Inflar' is a regular -ar verb and follows the standard conjugation pattern for the preterite tense.
Example Sentences
Ayer inflé el globo para la fiesta.
Yesterday I inflated the balloon for the party.
yo
¿Inflaste el colchón antes de que llegaran?
Did you inflate the mattress before they arrived?
tú
Él infló el neumático de la bicicleta.
He inflated the bicycle's tire.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros inflamos los globos rápidamente.
We inflated the balloons quickly.
nosotros
Ellos inflaron el salvavidas antes de ir a la playa.
They inflated the life preserver before going to the beach.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a single completed action.
Correct: For 'I inflated the balloon yesterday', use 'Yo inflé el globo ayer'.
Why: The preterite is for completed actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'infló' for él/ella/usted.
Correct: The form is 'infló' with an accent on the 'ó'.
Why: The accent distinguishes this form from other similar-looking words and marks the stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: inflo
The present tense of 'inflar' (inflo, inflas, infla, inflamos, infláis, inflan) is used for actions happening now, habitual actions, or general truths.
Imperfect
yo: inflaba
The imperfect of 'inflar' (inflaba, inflabas, inflábamos, inflabais, inflaban) describes ongoing or habitual past actions, like 'used to inflate' or 'was inflating'.
Future
yo: inflaré
The future tense of 'inflar' (inflaré, inflarás, inflará, inflaremos, inflaréis, inflarán) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: inflaría
The conditional of 'inflar' (inflaría, inflarías, inflaría, inflaríamos, inflaríais, inflarían) expresses 'would' actions, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: infle
The present subjunctive of 'inflar' (infle, infles, inflemos, inflen, infléis) is used after wishes, doubts, emotions, and impersonal expressions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: inflara
The imperfect subjunctive of 'inflar' (inflara, inflaras, infláramos, inflarais, inflaran) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: infla
Use 'infla' (tú), 'infle' (usted), 'inflemos' (nosotros), 'inflen' (ustedes), 'inflad' (vosotros) for direct commands with 'inflar'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no infles
Use 'no infles' (tú), 'no infle' (usted), 'no inflemos' (nosotros), 'no inflen' (ustedes), 'no infléis' (vosotros) for negative commands with 'inflar'.