sabotear Preterite Conjugation
sabotear — to sabotage
The preterite of sabotear is regular: saboteé, saboteaste, saboteó, saboteamos, saboteasteis, sabotearon.
sabotear Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for completed actions in the past. If someone sabotaged a plan at a specific moment or finished sabotaging something, you'd use this tense.
Notes on sabotear in the Preterite
Sabotear is fully regular in the preterite. The nosotros form 'saboteamos' is identical to the present indicative; context clarifies the meaning.
Example Sentences
Yo saboteé el experimento por accidente.
I sabotaged the experiment by accident.
yo
¿Tú saboteaste la presentación?
Did you sabotage the presentation?
tú
Él saboteó el coche antes de la carrera.
He sabotaged the car before the race.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros saboteamos el plan original.
We sabotaged the original plan.
nosotros
Ellos sabotearon la reputación del político.
They sabotaged the politician's reputation.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'sabotié' instead of 'saboteé' for the yo form.
Correct: The correct yo preterite form is 'saboteé'.
Why: The stem change 'o' to 'i' does not occur in the preterite for this verb.
Mistake: Confusing the preterite 'saboteamos' with the present indicative 'saboteamos'.
Correct: Context usually makes it clear. If discussing a past event, 'saboteamos' is preterite. If discussing a current habit, it's present.
Why: This is a common feature of -ar verbs; the nosotros preterite and present indicative are identical.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: saboteo
The present tense (saboteo, saboteas, sabotea, saboteamos, saboteáis, sabotean) describes current actions, habits, or general truths.
Imperfect
yo: saboteaba
The imperfect of sabotear (saboteaba, saboteabas, saboteaba, saboteábamos, saboteabais, saboteaban) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: sabotearé
The future tense (sabotearé, sabotearás, saboteará, sabotearemos, sabotearéis, sabotearán) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: sabotearía
The conditional (sabotearía, sabotearías, sabotearía, sabotearíamos, sabotearíais, sabotearían) expresses hypotheticals ('would') or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sabotee
The present subjunctive (sabotee/sabotees/sabotee/saboteemos/saboteéis/saboteen) expresses wishes, doubts, emotions, or uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: saboteara
The imperfect subjunctive (saboteara/sabotearas/saboteara/saboteáramos/sabotearais/sabotearan) expresses past hypotheticals, wishes, or doubts.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sabotea
Sabotea! commands are direct: sabotea (tú), sabotee (usted), saboteemos (nosotros), saboteen (ustedes), sabotead (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no sabotees
Negative commands use 'no' + present subjunctive: no sabotees (tú), no sabotee (usted), no saboteemos (nosotros), no saboteen (ustedes), no saboteéis (vosotros).