rogar Preterite Conjugation
rogar — to beg
The preterite of rogar has a spelling change in the 'yo' form (rogué) but is otherwise regular.
rogar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a specific instance where someone begged or pleaded at a concrete moment in the past.
Notes on rogar in the Preterite
To keep the 'g' sounding hard before an 'e', the 'yo' form changes from 'g' to 'gu' (rogué). Note that there is NO stem change (o-ue) in the preterite.
Example Sentences
Le rogué que no se fuera.
I begged him not to leave.
yo
Ella rogó por perdón durante horas.
She begged for forgiveness for hours.
él/ella/usted
Rogamos al juez una fianza menor.
We begged the judge for a lower bail.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'rogé' for the yo form.
Correct: rogué
Why: Without the 'u', the 'g' would sound like an 'h' (as in 'gente'). The 'gu' preserves the hard 'g' sound.
Mistake: Using 'ruegó' instead of 'rogó'.
Correct: rogó
Why: Stem changes (o to ue) for -ar verbs do not happen in the preterite tense.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: ruego
The present tense of rogar features an o-to-ue stem change: ruego, ruegas, ruega, rogamos, rogáis, ruegan.
Imperfect
yo: rogaba
The imperfect of rogar is completely regular: rogaba, rogabas, rogaba, rogábamos, rogabais, rogaban.
Future
yo: rogaré
The future tense of rogar is regular: rogaré, rogarás, rogará, rogaremos, rogaréis, rogarán.
Conditional
yo: rogaría
The conditional of rogar is regular: rogaría, rogarías, rogaría, rogaríamos, rogaríais, rogarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: ruegue
The present subjunctive of rogar combines the o-to-ue stem change with the g-to-gu spelling change: ruegue, ruegues, ruegue, roguemos, roguéis, rueguen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: rogara
The imperfect subjunctive of rogar is regular based on the preterite stem: rogara, rogaras, rogara, rogáramos, rogarais, rogaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: ruega
The imperative uses 'ruega' (tú) and 'rogad' (vosotros), while others use subjunctive forms: ruegue, roguemos, rueguen.
Negative Imperative
yo: no ruegues
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no ruegues, no ruegue, no roguemos, no roguéis, no rueguen.