Inklingo
A sad child sitting on a bed with a thermometer in their mouth and a cold compress on their forehead.

padecer Preterite Conjugation

padecer — to suffer from

B1irregular -er★★★
Quick answer:

Padecer is completely regular in the preterite: padecí, padeciste, padeció, padecimos, padecisteis, padecieron.

padecer Preterite Forms

yopadecí
túpadeciste
él/ella/ustedpadeció
nosotrospadecimos
vosotrospadecisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedespadecieron

When to Use the Preterite

Use the preterite to talk about a specific period of suffering that has ended, or a moment when someone experienced a particular hardship.

Notes on padecer in the Preterite

Despite being irregular in the present, padecer is a regular -er verb in the preterite.

Example Sentences

  • Ayer padecí un dolor de muelas terrible.

    Yesterday I suffered a terrible toothache.

    yo

  • Ellos padecieron mucho durante el viaje.

    They suffered a lot during the trip.

    ellos/ellas/ustedes

  • Él padeció una crisis nerviosa el año pasado.

    He suffered a nervous breakdown last year.

    él/ella/usted

Common Mistakes

  • Mistake: padeció (without accent)

    Correct: padeció

    Why: The third-person singular needs the accent on the 'ó' to distinguish it from other forms and indicate the stress.

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Related Tenses

Present

yo: padezco

Padecer is irregular in the 'yo' form (padezco), while all other forms follow regular -er patterns.

Imperfect

yo: padecía

Padecer is regular in the imperfect: padecía, padecías, padecía, padecíamos, padecíais, padecían.

Future

yo: padeceré

Padecer is regular in the future; simply add the endings to the infinitive: padeceré, padecerás, etc.

Conditional

yo: padecería

The conditional uses the full infinitive 'padecer' + ía endings: padecería, padecerías, etc.

Present Subjunctive

yo: padezca

The 'zc' from the 'yo' form carries through all persons: padezca, padezcas, padezca, etc.

Imperfect Subjunctive

yo: padeciera

Formed from the third-person plural preterite stem: padeciera, padecieras, padeciera.

Affirmative Imperative

yo: padece

The imperative forms for padecer are rarely used but follow standard -er rules and 'zc' for formal commands.

Negative Imperative

yo: no padezcas

All negative commands use the 'zc' stem from the present subjunctive: no padezcas, no padezca.