participar Preterite Conjugation
participar — participate
The preterite of participar (participé, participaste, etc.) describes completed past actions.
participar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'participar' to talk about a specific instance of participating that started and finished in the past.
Notes on participar in the Preterite
Participar is regular in the preterite tense. All forms follow the standard pattern for -ar verbs in the preterite.
Example Sentences
Yo participé en el concurso el año pasado.
I participated in the contest last year.
yo
¿Participaste en la votación?
Did you participate in the vote?
tú
Ella participó en la obra de teatro.
She participated in the play.
él/ella/usted
Ellos participaron en la manifestación.
They participated in the demonstration.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the preterite for a habitual past action.
Correct: For habits, use the imperfect: 'Yo participaba en el club' (I used to participate in the club).
Why: The preterite is for single, completed events, not recurring ones.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms.
Correct: The 'yo' form is 'participé' and the 'él/ella/usted' form is 'participó'.
Why: The accent marks the stressed syllable and distinguishes these forms.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'participar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: participo
The present tense of participar (participo, participas, etc.) is used for current, habitual, or general actions.
Imperfect
yo: participaba
The imperfect tense of participar (participaba, participabas, etc.) describes past habits or ongoing actions.
Future
yo: participaré
The future tense of participar (participaré, participarás, etc.) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: participaría
The conditional of participar (participaría, participarías, etc.) expresses 'would' actions, polite requests, or future-in-the-past.
Present Subjunctive
yo: participe
The present subjunctive of participar (participe, participes, participe, participemos, participéis, participen) expresses wishes, doubts, and emotions.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: participara
The imperfect subjunctive of participar (participara/participase) is used for past hypotheticals, wishes, or polite requests.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: participa
Use the imperative of participar for direct commands: participa, participe, participemos, participad, participen.
Negative Imperative
yo: no participes
Negative commands for 'participar' use the present subjunctive: no participes, no participe, no participemos, no participéis, no participen.