militar Preterite Conjugation
militar — to serve (in the military)
The preterite of militar (milité, militaste, militó, etc.) describes completed past actions.
militar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite tense to talk about a specific, completed action of serving in the military in the past. For example, 'Milité por dos años' (I served for two years) or 'Él militó en la guerra' (He served in the war).
Notes on militar in the Preterite
Militar is regular in the preterite tense. It follows the standard conjugation pattern for -ar verbs: milité, militaste, militó, militamos, militasteis, militaron.
Example Sentences
Yo milité bajo su mando.
I served under his command.
yo
¿Cuándo militaste tú?
When did you serve?
tú
Ella militó en el extranjero.
She served abroad.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros militamos en la misma misión.
We served on the same mission.
nosotros
Ellos militaron hasta la victoria.
They served until victory.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite for ongoing past actions.
Correct: Use the imperfect tense ('militaba') for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Why: The preterite is for completed actions with a defined start and end.
Mistake: Missing the accent on the yo form.
Correct: The yo form is 'milité', with an accent on the final 'e'.
Why: The accent is crucial to indicate the stressed syllable and differentiate it from other forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: milito
The present indicative of militar (milito, militas, milita, etc.) describes current or habitual actions.
Imperfect
yo: militaba
The imperfect of militar (militaba, militabas, militaba, etc.) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: militaré
The future tense of militar (militaré, militarás, militará, etc.) is regular and used for actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: militaría
The conditional of militar (militaría, militarías, militaría, etc.) expresses hypotheticals ('would') or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: milite
The present subjunctive of militar (milite, milites, militemos, militéis, militen) follows expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: militara
The imperfect subjunctive of militar (militara/militase) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: milita
Imperative commands for militar: milita (tú), milite (usted), militemos (nosotros), militad (vosotros), militen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no milites
Negative commands for militar use the present subjunctive: no milites (tú), no milite (usted), no militemos (nosotros), no militéis (vosotros), no militen (ustedes).