perder Preterite Conjugation
perder — to lose
The preterite of perder is regular: perdí, perdiste, perdió, perdimos, perdisteis, perdieron.
perder Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when the loss happened at a specific moment in time, like losing your keys this morning or a team losing a match yesterday.
Notes on perder in the Preterite
Perder is regular in the preterite. Unlike the present tense, the 'e' does not change to 'ie' here.
Example Sentences
Perdí las llaves en el parque.
I lost the keys in the park.
yo
¿Perdiste el autobús otra vez?
Did you miss (lose) the bus again?
tú
Ayer perdieron el partido por un punto.
Yesterday they lost the game by one point.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'pierdí' instead of 'perdí'.
Correct: perdí
Why: The e-to-ie stem change only happens in the present tense, not the preterite.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: pierdo
Perder is an e-to-ie stem-changing verb (pierdo, pierdes, pierde, pierden) except for nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: perdía
The imperfect of perder is regular: perdía, perdías, perdía, perdíamos, perdíais, perdían.
Future
yo: perderé
The future of perder is regular: perderé, perderás, perderá, perderemos, perderéis, perderán.
Conditional
yo: perdería
The conditional of perder is regular: perdería, perderías, perdería, perderíamos, perderíais, perderían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: pierda
The present subjunctive follows the e-to-ie change: pierda, pierdas, pierda, perdamos, perdáis, pierdan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: perdiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'perdier-' stem: perdiera, perdieras, perdiera, perdiéramos, perdierais, perdieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: pierde
Direct commands to lose or not lose: pierde (tú), pierda (usted), perdamos (nosotros), perded (vosotros), pierdan (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no pierdas
Negative commands use 'no' + present subjunctive: no pierdas, no pierda, no perdamos, no perdáis, no pierdan.