Inklingo
A teacher standing in front of a group of children, pointing to a large globe.

instruir Preterite Conjugation

instruir — to instruct

B1irregular -ir★★★
Quick answer:

Instruir in the preterite features a 'y' in the third-person forms: instruí, instruiste, instruyó, instruimos, instruisteis, instruyeron.

instruir Preterite Forms

yoinstruí
túinstruiste
él/ella/ustedinstruyó
nosotrosinstruimos
vosotrosinstruisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedesinstruyeron

When to Use the Preterite

Use this for completed training sessions or specific historical instances where someone was coached or taught.

Notes on instruir in the Preterite

Like other -uir verbs, the 'i' changes to 'y' in the third-person singular (él/ella) and plural (ellos/ellas) to avoid an unaccented 'i' between two vowels.

Example Sentences

  • La capitana instruyó a la tropa ayer.

    The captain instructed the troop yesterday.

    él/ella/usted

  • Nosotros instruimos a los voluntarios el lunes pasado.

    We instructed the volunteers last Monday.

    nosotros

  • Los expertos instruyeron a los técnicos en el nuevo sistema.

    The experts instructed the technicians in the new system.

    ellos/ellas/ustedes

Common Mistakes

  • Mistake: Writing 'instruió' instead of 'instruyó'.

    Correct: instruyó

    Why: In Spanish, an unstressed 'i' between two vowels must change to a 'y'.

Master Spanish verbs in context

Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'instruir' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.

Related Tenses

Present

yo: instruyo

The present of instruir adds a 'y' before endings: instruyo, instruyes, instruye, instruimos, instruís, instruyen.

Imperfect

yo: instruía

The imperfect of instruir is regular: instruía, instruías, instruía, instruíamos, instruíais, instruían.

Future

yo: instruiré

The future of instruir is regular: instruiré, instruirás, instruirá, instruiremos, instruiréis, instruirán.

Conditional

yo: instruiría

The conditional of instruir is regular: instruiría, instruirías, instruiría, instruiríamos, instruiríais, instruirían.

Present Subjunctive

yo: instruya

The present subjunctive of instruir uses a 'y' in all forms: instruya, instruyas, instruya, instruyamos, instruyáis, instruyan.

Imperfect Subjunctive

yo: instruyera

The imperfect subjunctive of instruir uses the 'y' from the preterite: instruyera, instruyeras, instruyera, instruyéramos, instruyerais, instruyeran.

Affirmative Imperative

yo: instruye

Use the imperative to give orders: instruye (tú), instruya (usted), instruid (vosotros), instruyan (ustedes).

Negative Imperative

yo: no instruyas

Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no instruyas, no instruya, no instruyamos, no instruyáis, no instruyan.