medir Preterite Conjugation
medir — to measure
In the preterite, medir only changes e-to-i in the third-person forms (midió, midieron).
medir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use this to talk about a specific instance when you measured something in the past, like measuring a room for a renovation.
Notes on medir in the Preterite
This is a 'slipper verb.' The stem change (e-to-i) only occurs in the bottom row of the conjugation chart (él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Example Sentences
Medí la pared ayer.
I measured the wall yesterday.
yo
El sastre midió mi cintura.
The tailor measured my waist.
él/ella/usted
Ellos midieron la temperatura del agua.
They measured the water temperature.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Medimos el terreno la semana pasada.
We measured the plot of land last week.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Él medió.
Correct: Él midió.
Why: The third-person singular needs the e-to-i stem change in the preterite.
Mistake: Yo midí.
Correct: Yo medí.
Why: The yo form does not have a stem change in the preterite for -ir verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: mido
Medir undergoes an e-to-i stem change in the present: mido, mides, mide, medimos, medís, miden.
Imperfect
yo: medía
Medir is completely regular in the imperfect: medía, medías, medía, medíamos, medíais, medían.
Future
yo: mediré
The future of medir is regular: añadir the endings to the full infinitive (mediré, medirás, etc.).
Conditional
yo: mediría
The conditional of medir is regular: añadir -ía endings to the infinitive (mediría, medirías, etc.).
Present Subjunctive
yo: mida
The present subjunctive of medir uses the 'i' stem change in ALL forms: mida, midas, mida, midamos, midáis, midan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: midiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'midier-' stem for all forms (midiera, midieras, etc.).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: mide
Use 'mide' (tú) or 'midan' (ustedes) to tell someone to measure something.
Negative Imperative
yo: no midas
The negative imperative always uses the present subjunctive forms: no midas, no mida, no midamos, no midáis, no midan.