otorgar Preterite Conjugation
otorgar — to grant
The preterite of otorgar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (otorgué), but is otherwise regular.
otorgar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when a grant, award, or permission was officially completed at a specific point in the past.
Notes on otorgar in the Preterite
This verb is a '-gar' verb. In the 'yo' form, the 'g' changes to 'gu' (otorgué) to keep the hard 'g' sound before the 'é'. All other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Le otorgué el premio al mejor estudiante.
I granted the award to the best student.
yo
El juez otorgó la custodia a la madre.
The judge granted custody to the mother.
él/ella/usted
Nos otorgaron una beca para estudiar en España.
They granted us a scholarship to study in Spain.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'otorgé' instead of 'otorgué'.
Correct: otorgué
Why: Without the 'u', the 'g' would sound like a Spanish 'j' (o-tor-hé). The 'u' preserves the hard 'g' sound.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: otorgo
The present tense of otorgar is regular: otorgo, otorgas, otorga, otorgamos, otorgáis, otorgan.
Imperfect
yo: otorgaba
The imperfect of otorgar is completely regular: otorgaba, otorgabas, otorgaba, otorgábamos, otorgabais, otorgaban.
Future
yo: otorgaré
The future tense of otorgar is regular: otorgaré, otorgarás, otorgará, otorgaremos, otorgaréis, otorgarán.
Conditional
yo: otorgaría
The conditional of otorgar is regular: otorgaría, otorgarías, otorgaría, otorgaríamos, otorgaríais, otorgarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: otorgue
The present subjunctive of otorgar requires a 'gu' spelling change in all forms: otorgue, otorgues, otorgue, otorguemos, otorguéis, otorguen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: otorgara
The imperfect subjunctive of otorgar is regular (based on the preterite): otorgara, otorgaras, otorgara, otorgáramos, otorgarais, otorgaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: otorga
The imperative of otorgar uses the regular 'tú' form (otorga) and subjunctive-based forms for others (otorgue, otorguen).
Negative Imperative
yo: no otorgues
The negative imperative of otorgar always uses the 'gu' spelling change: no otorgues, no otorgue, no otorguemos, no otorguéis, no otorguen.