rebotar Preterite Conjugation
rebotar — to bounce
Completed bounces: reboté, rebotaste, rebotó, rebotamos, rebotasteis, rebotaron.
rebotar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a bounce that happened and finished at a specific moment in the past. For example, 'La pelota rebotó una vez y se paró' means 'The ball bounced once and stopped'.
Notes on rebotar in the Preterite
Rebotar is a regular -ar verb in the preterite. All forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Yo reboté la pelota diez veces seguidas.
I bounced the ball ten times in a row.
yo
¿Tú rebotaste la pelota contra el suelo?
Did you bounce the ball against the floor?
tú
El niño rebotó la pelota y la perdió.
The child bounced the ball and lost it.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros rebotamos la pelota en el patio.
We bounced the ball in the yard.
nosotros
Ellos rebotaron la pelota hasta que se cansaron.
They bounced the ball until they got tired.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite, like 'La pelota rebotaba y paraba'.
Correct: Use the preterite for a completed action: 'La pelota rebotó y se paró'.
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions, while the preterite describes single, completed events.
Mistake: Forgetting accents on the preterite forms (e.g., 'rebote' instead of 'reboté').
Correct: Remember the accent on the 'yo' form: 'reboté'.
Why: The accent on the 'yo' form is crucial for pronunciation and to distinguish it from other forms or tenses.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: reboto
Current or habitual bounces: reboto, rebotas, rebota, rebotamos, rebotáis, rebotan.
Imperfect
yo: rebotaba
Past ongoing/habitual bounces: rebotaba, rebotabas, rebotábamos, rebotabais, rebotaban.
Future
yo: rebotaré
Future bounces: rebotaré, rebotarás, rebotará, rebotaremos, rebotaréis, rebotarán.
Conditional
yo: rebotaría
Hypothetical bounces: rebotaría, rebotarías, rebotaría, rebotaríamos, rebotaríais, rebotarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: rebote
Wishes/doubts about bouncing: rebote, rebotes, rebotemos, rebotéis, reboten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: rebotara
Hypothetical past bounces: rebotara, rebotaras, rebotase, rebotáramos, rebotarais, rebotaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: rebota
Rebota, rebote, rebotemos, rebotad, reboten are the commands for 'to bounce'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no rebotes
Don't bounce: no rebotes, no rebote, no rebotemos, no rebotéis, no reboten.