sellar Preterite Conjugation
sellar — to stamp
The preterite of sellar is regular: sellé, sellaste, selló, sellamos, sellasteis, sellaron.
sellar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to talk about a specific, completed action of stamping in the past. For example, you stamped a letter once, or you stamped all the invitations at a particular time.
Notes on sellar in the Preterite
Sellar is completely regular in the preterite tense. All the endings are added to the infinitive stem 'sell-'.
Example Sentences
Yo sellé la carta esta mañana.
I stamped the letter this morning.
yo
¿Tú sellaste el pasaporte cuando llegaste?
Did you stamp the passport when you arrived?
tú
Ella selló todas las invitaciones ayer.
She stamped all the invitations yesterday.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros sellamos los documentos al final de la reunión.
We stamped the documents at the end of the meeting.
nosotros
Ellos sellaron los paquetes antes de enviarlos.
They stamped the packages before sending them.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Writing 'sello' (present tense) instead of 'sellé' (preterite) for the 'yo' form.
Correct: The preterite for 'yo' is 'sellé', with an accent on the 'é'.
Why: The accent mark is crucial to distinguish the completed past action from the habitual present action.
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'sellaba' when the action was a single, completed event.
Correct: For a specific completed act of stamping, use the preterite like 'selló' or 'sellé'.
Why: The preterite is for finished actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sello
The present tense of sellar ('sello', 'sellas', 'sella', etc.) describes habitual actions, what's happening now, or general truths.
Imperfect
yo: sellaba
The imperfect of sellar ('sellaba', 'sellabas', 'sellaba', etc.) describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: sellaré
The future tense of sellar ('sellará', 'sellaremos', etc.) indicates actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: sellaría
The conditional of sellar ('sellaría', 'sellarías', etc.) is used for hypotheticals ('would stamp') and polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: selle
The present subjunctive ('selles', 'selle', 'sellemos', etc.) is used after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, and uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sellara
The imperfect subjunctive ('sellara' or 'sellase') expresses hypothetical situations or wishes in the past.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sella
Use 'sella' (tú), 'selle' (usted), 'sellemos' (nosotros), 'sellen' (ustedes), 'sellad' (vosotros) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no selles
Negative commands use 'no' plus the present subjunctive: 'no selles' (tú), 'no selle' (usted), 'no sellemos' (nosotros), 'no sellen' (ustedes), 'no selléis' (vosotros).