ocultar Preterite Conjugation
ocultar — to hide
The preterite of ocultar is regular: oculté, ocultaste, ocultó, ocultamos, ocultasteis, ocultaron.
ocultar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a specific instance of hiding something. It implies the action was completed at a definite point in time.
Notes on ocultar in the Preterite
Ocultar is fully regular. Note that 'ocultamos' is the same in both present and preterite; context will tell you if it's 'we hide' or 'we hid'.
Example Sentences
Oculté las llaves en el cajón ayer.
I hid the keys in the drawer yesterday.
yo
Él ocultó su tristeza con una sonrisa.
He hid his sadness with a smile.
él/ella/usted
¿Por qué ocultaste el informe?
Why did you hide the report?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Oculto (for past tense)
Correct: Ocultó
Why: Without the accent, 'oculto' means 'I hide' (present). 'Ocultó' means 'he/she hid' (past).
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: oculto
The present of ocultar is regular: oculto, ocultas, oculta, ocultamos, ocultáis, ocultan.
Imperfect
yo: ocultaba
The imperfect of ocultar is regular, using -aba endings: ocultaba, ocultabas, ocultaba, ocultábamos, ocultabais, ocultaban.
Future
yo: ocultaré
The future of ocultar uses the full infinitive as a base: ocultaré, ocultarás, ocultará, ocultaremos, ocultaréis, ocultarán.
Conditional
yo: ocultaría
The conditional of ocultar is regular: ocultaría, ocultarías, ocultaría, ocultaríamos, ocultaríais, ocultarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: oculte
The present subjunctive of ocultar changes the 'a' to 'e': oculte, ocultes, oculte, ocultemos, ocultéis, oculten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: ocultara
The imperfect subjunctive of ocultar uses the -ra endings: ocultara, ocultaras, ocultara, ocultáramos, ocultarais, ocultaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: oculta
The affirmative imperative forms are: oculta (tú), oculte (usted), ocultemos (nosotros), ocultad (vosotros), oculten (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no ocultes
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no ocultes, no oculte, no ocultemos, no ocultéis, no oculten.