recordar Preterite Conjugation
recordar — to remember
Recordar is regular in the preterite: recordé, recordaste, recordó, recordamos, recordasteis, recordaron.
recordar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you want to describe the specific moment someone remembered something or when a memory suddenly 'clicked' in the past.
Notes on recordar in the Preterite
Unlike the present tense, recordar is completely regular in the preterite. The 'o' does not change to 'ue'.
Example Sentences
Ayer recordé que hoy era tu cumpleaños.
Yesterday I remembered that today was your birthday.
yo
Él recordó la dirección de repente.
He suddenly remembered the address.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros recordamos los viejos tiempos anoche.
We remembered (reminisced about) the old times last night.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'recuerdé' instead of 'recordé'.
Correct: recordé
Why: Learners often try to keep the stem change (o→ue) from the present tense, but it doesn't apply in the preterite.
Master Spanish verbs in context
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: recuerdo
Recordar has an o→ue stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros: recuerdo, recuerdas, recuerda, recordamos, recordáis, recuerdan.
Imperfect
yo: recordaba
The imperfect of recordar is regular: recordaba, recordabas, recordaba, recordábamos, recordabais, recordaban.
Future
yo: recordaré
The future of recordar is regular: recordaré, recordarás, recordará, recordaremos, recordaréis, recordarán.
Conditional
yo: recordaría
The conditional of recordar is regular: recordaría, recordarías, recordaría, recordaríamos, recordaríais, recordarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: recuerde
The present subjunctive of recordar follows the o→ue stem change: recuerde, recuerdes, recuerde, recordemos, recordéis, recuerden.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: recordara
The imperfect subjunctive of recordar is regular: recordara, recordaras, recordara, recordáramos, recordarais, recordaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: recuerda
The imperative of recordar uses the o→ue stem change: recuerda (tú), recuerde (usted), recordemos (nosotros), recordad (vosotros), recuerden (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no recuerdes
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no recuerdes (tú), no recuerde (usted), no recordemos (nosotros), no recordéis (vosotros), no recuerden (ustedes).