nacer Preterite Conjugation
nacer — to be born
The preterite of nacer is regular: nací, naciste, nació, nacimos, nacisteis, nacieron.
nacer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
This is the most common tense for nacer because being born is a one-time, completed event. Use it to state when or where someone was born.
Notes on nacer in the Preterite
Nacer is completely regular in the preterite. It follows the standard pattern for -er verbs.
Example Sentences
Yo nací en Madrid.
I was born in Madrid.
yo
Mi abuelo nació en 1945.
My grandfather was born in 1945.
él/ella/usted
¿Dónde naciste tú?
Where were you born?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'estaba nacido' instead of 'nació'.
Correct: Nací/nació.
Why: English uses 'was born' (passive), but Spanish uses the active preterite verb 'nació' to express the event of birth.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: nazco
Nacer is irregular only in the 'yo' form (nazco), while other forms are regular.
Imperfect
yo: nacía
The imperfect of nacer is regular: nacía, nacías, nacía, nacíamos, nacíais, nacían.
Future
yo: naceré
The future of nacer is regular: naceré, nacerás, nacerá, naceremos, naceréis, nacerán.
Conditional
yo: nacería
The conditional of nacer is regular: nacería, nacerías, nacería, naceríamos, naceríais, nacerían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: nazca
The present subjunctive uses the 'zc' stem: nazca, nazcas, nazca, nazcamos, nazcáis, nazcan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: naciera
The imperfect subjunctive of nacer is regular: naciera, nacieras, naciera, naciéramos, nacierais, nacieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: nace
The imperative uses 'nace' (tú) and the 'zc' stem for formal/plural commands: nazca, nazcan.
Negative Imperative
yo: no nazcas
Negative commands always use the 'zc' stem: no nazcas, no nazca, no nazcamos, no nazcáis, no nazcan.