negar Preterite Conjugation
negar — deny
Negar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (negué) to keep the hard 'g' sound, but is otherwise regular.
negar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific time someone denied something or a one-time refusal of access.
Notes on negar in the Preterite
It follows the -gar spelling rule: in the 'yo' form, the 'g' becomes 'gu' before 'é' (negué). This prevents it from sounding like 'ne-hé'.
Example Sentences
Negué los cargos ante el juez.
I denied the charges before the judge.
yo
Él me negó la entrada al club.
He denied me entry to the club.
él/ella/usted
Negaron conocer al sospechoso.
They denied knowing the suspect.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: yo negé
Correct: yo negué
Why: Without the 'u', the 'g' sounds like an 'h' (ne-hé) instead of a hard 'g' (ne-gé).
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: niego
Negar is a stem-changer (e > ie) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: negaba
Negar is completely regular in the imperfect: negaba, negabas, negaba...
Future
yo: negaré
Negar is completely regular in the future tense; just add the endings to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: negaría
The conditional of negar is regular: negaría, negarías, negaría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: niegue
The present subjunctive of negar features both a stem change (ie) and a spelling change (gu).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: negara
The imperfect subjunctive of negar is formed from the third-person plural preterite: negara, negaras, negara...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: niega
Use 'niega' (tú) or 'niegue' (usted) to command someone to deny something.
Negative Imperative
yo: no niegues
The negative imperative of negar uses 'no' + present subjunctive forms.