sentir Preterite Conjugation
sentir — to feel
Sentir is irregular in the third person, changing e > i: sintió and sintieron.
sentir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite to talk about a specific moment you felt a sensation or a reaction to an event that happened once and finished.
Notes on sentir in the Preterite
This is a 'slipper verb.' While most forms are regular, the third person singular (él/ella) and plural (ellos/ellas) change the stem vowel from 'e' to 'i'.
Example Sentences
Sentí un ruido extraño en la cocina.
I felt (heard/sensed) a strange noise in the kitchen.
yo
Ella sintió mucha tristeza al despedirse.
She felt a lot of sadness when saying goodbye.
él/ella/usted
Sentimos el temblor anoche.
We felt the tremor last night.
nosotros
Ellos no sintieron nada durante la operación.
They didn't feel anything during the operation.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: sentió
Correct: sintió
Why: In the preterite, -ir verbs with a stem change only apply that change (e > i) in the third-person forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: siento
Sentir has an e > ie stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: sentía
Sentir is regular in the imperfect: sentía, sentías, sentía, sentíamos, sentíais, sentían.
Future
yo: sentiré
Sentir is completely regular in the future tense: sentiré, sentirás, sentirá...
Conditional
yo: sentiría
Sentir is regular in the conditional: sentiría, sentirías, sentiría, sentiríamos, sentiríais, sentirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sienta
Sentir has a dual stem change: e > ie in most forms, and e > i in nosotros/vosotros.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sintiera
Sentir uses the stem 'sintier-' for all forms in the imperfect subjunctive.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: siente
The imperative uses 'siente' (tú) and 'sienta' (usted), following present stem changes.
Negative Imperative
yo: no sientas
Negative commands use the present subjunctive: no sientas, no sienta, no sintamos, no sintáis, no sientan.