repetir Preterite Conjugation
repetir — repeat
Repetir has a 'third-person' stem change: e becomes i in the él/ella and ellos/ellas forms (repitió, repitieron).
repetir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you want to say you repeated something a specific number of times or at a specific moment in the past, like repeating a grade in school or a request.
Notes on repetir in the Preterite
This is a 'slipper verb' (ir-stem changer). The 'e' changes to 'i' only in the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) and plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes). The other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
El camarero repitió el pedido para confirmar.
The waiter repeated the order to confirm.
él/ella/usted
Repetí el examen porque quería una mejor nota.
I repeated the exam because I wanted a better grade.
yo
Los estudiantes repitieron la frase después del profesor.
The students repeated the phrase after the teacher.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'repetió' instead of 'repitió'.
Correct: repitió
Why: In the preterite, -ir stem changers use 'i', not 'e', for the third-person forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: repito
Repetir is a stem-changing verb where 'e' becomes 'i' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: repetía
Repetir is regular in the imperfect: repetía, repetías, repetía...
Future
yo: repetiré
Repetir is regular in the future tense; just add the endings to the full infinitive.
Conditional
yo: repetiría
Repetir is regular in the conditional; add -ía to the infinitive (repetiría).
Present Subjunctive
yo: repita
Repetir stem-changes to 'i' in ALL forms of the present subjunctive (repita, repitamos).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: repitiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'i' stem from the preterite: repitiera, repitieras...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: repite
Commands use 'repite' (tú) and 'repita' (usted), with a stem change to 'i'.
Negative Imperative
yo: no repitas
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no repitas, no repita, no repitamos.