mostrar Preterite Conjugation
mostrar — to show
The preterite of mostrar is regular: mostré, mostraste, mostró, mostramos, mostrasteis, mostraron.
mostrar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for one-time past events where someone showed something at a specific moment, like showing a photo or a passport at a checkpoint.
Notes on mostrar in the Preterite
Despite being a stem-changer in the present, mostrar is completely regular in the preterite. The 'o' remains an 'o' in all forms.
Example Sentences
Le mostré mi pasaporte al agente.
I showed my passport to the agent.
yo
Él nos mostró su casa nueva.
He showed us his new house.
él/ella/usted
Mostraron mucha valentía durante la tormenta.
They showed a lot of bravery during the storm.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'muestré' instead of 'mostré'.
Correct: mostré
Why: Learners often try to carry the o > ue stem change into the preterite, but it only happens in the present tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: muestro
Mostrar is an o > ue stem-changing verb in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: mostraba
Mostrar is regular in the imperfect: mostraba, mostrabas, mostraba, mostrábamos, mostrabais, mostraban.
Future
yo: mostraré
The future of mostrar is regular: mostraré, mostrarás, mostrará, mostraremos, mostraréis, mostrarán.
Conditional
yo: mostraría
The conditional of mostrar is regular: mostraría, mostrarías, mostraría, mostraríamos, mostraríais, mostrarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: muestre
The present subjunctive follows the o > ue stem change: muestre, muestres, muestre, mostremos, mostréis, muestren.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: mostrara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular: mostrara, mostraras, mostrara, mostráramos, mostrarais, mostraran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: muestra
Affirmative commands use the stem change: muestra (tú), muestre (usted), mostremos (nosotros), mostrad (vosotros), muestren (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no muestres
Negative commands are based on the present subjunctive: no muestres, no muestre, no mostremos, no mostréis, no muestren.