marchar Preterite Conjugation
marchar — march
The preterite of march (marche, marchaste, marchó) indicates completed past actions.
marchar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for actions that started and finished at a specific point in the past. Think 'I marched' (and finished marching) yesterday or last week.
Notes on marchar in the Preterite
March is regular in the preterite tense. All forms are predictable.
Example Sentences
Ayer marché con mis amigos.
Yesterday I marched with my friends.
yo
¿Marchaste en la manifestación?
Did you march in the demonstration?
tú
La banda marchó por la calle principal.
The band marched down the main street.
él/ella/usted
Ellos marcharon hasta el centro.
They marched to the city center.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect for a single completed march.
Correct: Use 'Marché ayer' (preterite) not 'Marchaba ayer'.
Why: The imperfect ('marchaba') implies an ongoing or habitual action in the past, while the preterite ('marché') signifies a completed event.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'yo' form.
Correct: The 'yo' form is 'marché', with an accent on the 'é'.
Why: The accent distinguishes the preterite 'yo' form from other similar-looking verb forms and indicates the stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: marcho
The present tense of march (marcho, marchas, marcha) describes current or habitual actions.
Imperfect
yo: marchaba
The imperfect tense of march (marchaba, marchabas, marchaba) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: marcharé
The future tense of march (marcharé, marcharás, marchará) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: marcharía
The conditional of march (marcharía, marcharías, marcharía) expresses 'would' actions or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: marche
The present subjunctive of march (marche, marches, marchen) is used after expressions of doubt, desire, or emotion.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: marchara
The imperfect subjunctive of march (marchara/marchase) is used for past hypotheticals or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ¡marcha!
Use imperative forms like '¡marcha!' (tú) and '¡marchen!' (ustedes) for direct commands with march.
Negative Imperative
yo: ¡no marches!
Negative commands with march use the present subjunctive, like '¡no marches!' (tú) or '¡no marchen!' (ustedes).