rectificar Preterite Conjugation
rectificar — to correct
Rectificar is regular in the preterite except for the 'yo' form, which changes to 'rectifiqué'.
rectificar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use this for a specific instance where someone corrected a mistake in the past (e.g., 'Yesterday, I corrected the invoice').
Notes on rectificar in the Preterite
Only the 'yo' form is irregular (rectifiqué). The 'c' changes to 'qu' to preserve the hard 'k' sound before the 'é'. All other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Ayer rectifiqué el error en la factura.
Yesterday I corrected the error on the invoice.
yo
Él rectificó su postura después de la reunión.
He corrected his stance after the meeting.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros rectificamos la dirección en el sistema.
We corrected the address in the system.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: rectificé
Correct: rectifiqué
Why: In Spanish, 'cé' is pronounced like 'say/thay'. To keep the 'kay' sound of rectificar, you must use 'qué'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: rectifico
Rectificar is a completely regular -ar verb in the present tense: rectifico, rectificas, rectifica, rectificamos, rectificáis, rectifican.
Imperfect
yo: rectificaba
The imperfect of rectificar is regular: rectificaba, rectificabas, rectificaba, rectificábamos, rectificabais, rectificaban.
Future
yo: rectificaré
The future tense of rectificar is regular: add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the full infinitive.
Conditional
yo: rectificaría
The conditional of rectificar is regular: add -ía, -ías, -ía, -íamos, -íais, -ían to the infinitive.
Present Subjunctive
yo: rectifique
Rectificar follows the -ar subjunctive pattern but changes 'c' to 'qu' in all forms: rectifique, rectifiques, rectifique, rectifiquemos, rectifiquéis, rectifiquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: rectificara
The imperfect subjunctive of rectificar is regular, based on the third-person plural preterite: rectificara, rectificaras, rectificara, rectificáramos, rectificarais, rectificaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: rectifica
The imperative uses 'rectifica' (tú) and 'rectifique' (usted). Use it for direct commands to fix something.
Negative Imperative
yo: no rectifiques
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no rectifiques, no rectifique, no rectifiquemos, no rectifiquéis, no rectifiquen.