rastrear Preterite Conjugation
rastrear — track
Preterite tense for rastrear: rastreé (yo), rastreaste (tú), rastreó (él/ella/usted), rastreamos (nosotros), rastreasteis (vosotros), rastrearon (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
rastrear Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite tense to describe completed actions in the past that have a clear beginning and end. For 'rastrear,' it's about successfully tracking something at a specific point in time.
Notes on rastrear in the Preterite
Rastrear is regular in the preterite tense. Note that the 'nosotros' form 'rastreamos' is identical to the present tense; context is key to differentiate.
Example Sentences
Ayer rastreé el paquete y ya está en camino.
Yesterday I tracked the package and it's already on its way.
yo
¿Rastreaste la señal cuando te la envié?
Did you track the signal when I sent it to you?
tú
El equipo rastreó al intruso durante la noche.
The team tracked the intruder during the night.
él/ella/usted
Ellos rastrearon el origen del sonido.
They tracked the source of the sound.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a completed action.
Correct: For a specific, completed tracking event, use 'Yo rastreé', not 'Yo rastreaba'.
Why: The preterite is for single, finished events, while the imperfect is for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms.
Correct: The forms are 'rastreé' (yo) and 'rastreó' (él/ella/usted), both requiring accents.
Why: These accents distinguish these preterite forms from other tenses (like the present indicative 'rastreo') and indicate the stressed syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: rastreo
Present tense for rastrear: rastreo (yo), rastreas (tú), rastrea (él/ella/usted), rastreamos (nosotros), rastreáis (vosotros), rastrean (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Imperfect
yo: rastreaba
Imperfect tense for rastrear: rastreaba (yo/él/ella/usted), rastreabas (tú), rastreábamos (nosotros), rastreabais (vosotros), rastreaban (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Future
yo: rastrearé
Future tense for rastrear: rastrearé (yo), rastrearás (tú), rastreará (él/ella/usted), rastrearemos (nosotros), rastrearéis (vosotros), rastrearán (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Conditional
yo: rastrearía
Conditional tense for rastrear: rastrearía (yo/él/ella/usted), rastrearías (tú), rastrearíamos (nosotros), rastrearíais (vosotros), rastrearían (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Present Subjunctive
yo: rastree
Present subjunctive for rastrear: rastree (yo/él/ella/usted), rastrees (tú), rastreemos (nosotros), rastreéis (vosotros), rastreen (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: rastreara
Past subjunctive for rastrear: rastreara/rastrease (yo/él/ella/usted), rastrearas/rastreases (tú), rastreáramos/rastreásemos (nosotros), rastrearais/rastraseis (vosotros), rastrearan/rastreasen (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Affirmative Imperative
yo: rastrea
Commands using rastrear: rastrea (tú), rastree (usted), rastreemos (nosotros), rastread (vosotros), rastreen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no rastrees
Negative commands for rastrear: no rastrees (tú), no rastree (usted), no rastreemos (nosotros), no rastreéis (vosotros), no rastreen (ustedes).