reclutar Preterite Conjugation
reclutar — to recruit
The preterite of reclutar is regular: recluté, reclutaste, reclutó, reclutamos, reclutasteis, reclutaron.
reclutar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite with 'reclutar' to talk about the specific, completed act of recruiting someone in the past. For example, 'She recruited the new manager last week' or 'We recruited ten employees yesterday.'
Notes on reclutar in the Preterite
'Reclutar' is a regular -ar verb, so all its preterite conjugations are regular.
Example Sentences
Ayer, la empresa reclutó a cinco ingenieros nuevos.
Yesterday, the company recruited five new engineers.
él/ella/usted
¿Reclutaste a alguien para el puesto de asistente?
Did you recruit someone for the assistant position?
tú
Yo recluté a los primeros voluntarios del proyecto.
I recruited the first volunteers for the project.
yo
Ellos reclutaron a un equipo muy competitivo.
They recruited a very competitive team.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Nosotros reclutamos a los finalistas la semana pasada.
We recruited the finalists last week.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect ('reclutaba') instead of the preterite ('reclutó') for a single, completed recruiting action.
Correct: Use 'Ella reclutó al director' for a completed action, not 'Ella reclutaba al director'.
Why: The preterite marks finished actions in the past, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'recluté' (yo) and 'reclutó' (él/ella/usted).
Correct: The correct forms are 'recluté' and 'reclutó'.
Why: The accent marks the stressed syllable and distinguishes these forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: recluto
Use the present tense 'recluto', 'reclutas', 'recluta', 'reclutamos', 'reclutáis', 'reclutan' for current or habitual recruiting actions.
Imperfect
yo: reclutaba
The imperfect of reclutar (reclutaba, reclutabas, etc.) describes past habits or ongoing actions.
Future
yo: reclutaré
The future tense 'reclutaré', 'reclutarás', etc., indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: reclutaría
The conditional 'reclutaría', 'reclutarías', etc., expresses 'would' actions or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: reclute
Use 'reclute', 'reclutes', 'reclutemos', 'recluten' after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: reclutara
The imperfect subjunctive (reclutara/reclutase) is for past hypothetical situations or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: recluta
Use 'recluta', 'reclute', 'reclutemos', 'reclutad', 'recluten' for direct commands with reclutar.
Negative Imperative
yo: no reclutes
Negative commands use 'no' + present subjunctive: no reclutes, no reclute, no reclutemos, no reclutéis, no recluten.