portar Preterite Conjugation
portar — to behave
The preterite of 'portar' is regular: porté, portaste, portó, portamos, portasteis, portaron.
portar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'portar' to talk about how someone behaved during a specific, completed period or at a specific moment in the past. For instance, 'Se portó muy bien en la cena' (He behaved very well at the dinner).
Notes on portar in the Preterite
'Portar' is a regular -ar verb and has no irregularities in the preterite tense. All forms follow the standard conjugation pattern.
Example Sentences
Me porté bien durante todo el viaje.
I behaved well during the entire trip.
yo
¿Te portaste a la altura?
Did you behave appropriately?
tú
El niño se portó como un ángel.
The child behaved like an angel.
él/ella/usted
Ellos se portaron de manera ejemplar.
They behaved in an exemplary manner.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of preterite for a single completed action, e.g., 'Me portaba bien ayer'.
Correct: Use the preterite for a completed action: 'Me porté bien ayer'.
Why: The preterite marks specific, finished actions in the past, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the reflexive pronoun 'se' with 'portar', e.g., 'Ella portó bien'.
Correct: Use the reflexive pronoun: 'Ella se portó bien'.
Why: 'Portarse' is a reflexive verb meaning 'to behave', so the reflexive pronoun is required.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: porto
The present tense 'porto', 'portas', 'porta' describes habitual behavior or actions happening now.
Imperfect
yo: portaba
The imperfect 'portaba', 'portabas', 'portaba' describes habitual or ongoing past behavior.
Future
yo: portaré
Future forms like 'portaré' (yo) and 'portarán' (ellos) predict or promise future behavior.
Conditional
yo: portaría
Conditional forms like 'portaría' (yo) express hypothetical behavior or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: porte
Present subjunctive forms like 'porte' (yo/él/ella/usted) express wishes, doubts, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: portara
The imperfect subjunctive, like 'portara' or 'portase', is for past hypotheticals or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: porta
Use imperative forms like 'porta' (tú) and 'porten' (ustedes) for direct commands with 'portar'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no portes
Negative commands use 'no' + present subjunctive, like 'no portes' (tú) or 'no porten' (ustedes).