reflejar Preterite Conjugation
reflejar — to reflect
Completed past actions: reflejé, reflejaste, reflejó, reflejamos, reflejasteis, reflejaron.
reflejar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'reflejar' for actions in the past that were completed at a specific moment or over a defined period. For instance, 'The mirror reflected the room for a moment' or 'The painting reflected his mood yesterday.'
Notes on reflejar in the Preterite
Reflejar is regular in the preterite. All forms are created by adding the standard -ar preterite endings to the infinitive stem.
Example Sentences
El agua reflejó la luz del sol por un instante.
The water reflected the sunlight for an instant.
él/ella/usted
Ayer reflejaste mucha paciencia.
Yesterday you reflected a lot of patience.
tú
Nosotros reflejamos sus ideas en nuestro proyecto.
We reflected their ideas in our project.
nosotros
Ellos reflejaron sus sentimientos en la canción.
They reflected their feelings in the song.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of preterite for a single event.
Correct: For a specific, completed reflection, use the preterite: 'El espejo reflejó' (The mirror reflected).
Why: The imperfect ('reflejaba') describes ongoing or habitual past actions, not single, finished ones.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'reflejó' (él/ella/usted).
Correct: The él/ella/usted form is 'reflejó' with an accent on the 'o'.
Why: This accent is crucial to indicate the stressed syllable in this specific preterite form.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: reflejo
Present actions/truths: reflejo, reflejas, refleja, reflejamos, reflejáis, reflejan.
Imperfect
yo: reflejaba
Ongoing/habitual past: reflejaba, reflejabas, reflejábamos, reflejaban, reflejabais.
Future
yo: reflejaré
Future actions: reflejaré, reflejarás, reflejará, reflejaremos, reflejarán, reflejaréis.
Conditional
yo: reflejaría
Hypothetical/polite: reflejaría, reflejarías, reflejaríamos, reflejarían, reflejaríais.
Present Subjunctive
yo: refleje
Wishes, doubts, emotions: refleje, reflejes, reflejemos, reflejen, reflejéis.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: reflejara
Past hypothetical: reflejara, reflejaras, reflejáramos, reflejaran, reflejarais.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: refleja
Commands: reflejá (tú), refleje (usted), reflejemos (nosotros), reflejen (ustedes), reflejad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no reflejes
Negative commands: no reflejes (tú), no refleje (usted), no reflejemos (nosotros), no reflejen (ustedes), no reflejéis (vosotros).