perdonar Preterite Conjugation
perdonar — to forgive
The preterite of perdonar is regular: perdoné, perdonaste, perdonó, perdonamos, perdonasteis, perdonaron.
perdonar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to describe the specific moment someone was forgiven. It marks a completed action in the past, like a single conversation where an apology was accepted.
Notes on perdonar in the Preterite
Perdonar is fully regular in the preterite. Note that 'perdonamos' is the same in both present and preterite.
Example Sentences
Ayer perdoné a mi novio por olvidar mi cumpleaños.
Yesterday I forgave my boyfriend for forgetting my birthday.
yo
Ellos perdonaron la deuda el mes pasado.
They forgave the debt last month.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
¿Tú perdonaste lo que pasó?
Did you forgive what happened?
tú
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'perdono' for the past tense of he/she.
Correct: The preterite is perdonó (with an accent).
Why: Without the accent, 'perdono' is the present tense 'I forgive'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: perdono
Perdonar is a regular -ar verb in the present tense: perdono, perdonas, perdona, perdonamos, perdonáis, perdonan.
Imperfect
yo: perdonaba
Perdonar is regular in the imperfect: perdonaba, perdonabas, perdonaba, perdonábamos, perdonabais, perdonaban.
Future
yo: perdonaré
For the future of perdonar, add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: perdonaría
The conditional of perdonar uses the infinitive plus -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: perdone
To form the present subjunctive of perdonar, change the -ar ending to -e: perdone, perdones, perdone, etc.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: perdonara
The imperfect subjunctive of perdonar is built from the 'ellos' preterite stem: perdonara, perdonaras, perdonara, etc.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: perdona
The affirmative imperative of perdonar uses perdona (tú) and perdonad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no perdones
The negative imperative of perdonar uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive forms.