pecar Preterite Conjugation
pecar — to sin
The preterite of pecar is regular except for the 'yo' form (pequé), which uses 'qu' to keep the hard 'k' sound.
pecar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe a specific instance in the past when someone sinned or made a mistake (erred).
Notes on pecar in the Preterite
Only the 'yo' form is irregular (pequé) due to the orthographic change from 'c' to 'qu'. All other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Ayer pequé y me comí todo el pastel.
Yesterday I sinned and ate the whole cake.
yo
Él pecó contra sus principios.
He sinned against his principles.
él/ella/usted
Pecamos de confiados en ese negocio.
We erred on the side of being too trusting in that business.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'pecé' for the first person.
Correct: pequé
Why: The 'c' must change to 'qu' before an 'é' to maintain the pronunciation of the root.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: peco
The present tense of pecar is fully regular: peco, pecas, peca, pecamos, pecáis, pecan.
Imperfect
yo: pecaba
The imperfect of pecar is regular: pecaba, pecabas, pecaba, pecábamos, pecabais, pecaban.
Future
yo: pecaré
The future tense of pecar is regular: pecaré, pecarás, pecará, pecaremos, pecaréis, pecarán.
Conditional
yo: pecaría
The conditional of pecar is regular: pecaría, pecarías, pecaría, pecaríamos, pecaríais, pecarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: peque
The present subjunctive of pecar features a c-to-qu spelling change: peque, peques, peque, pequemos, pequéis, pequen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: pecara
The imperfect subjunctive of pecar is regular, built from the third-person plural preterite: pecara, pecaras, pecara, pecáramos, pecarais, pecaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: peca
The imperative of pecar uses 'peca' (tú) and 'peque' (usted), with the spelling change in formal forms.
Negative Imperative
yo: no peques
The negative imperative of pecar uses the present subjunctive forms: no peques, no peque, no pequemos, no pequéis, no pequen.