silenciar Preterite Conjugation
silenciar — to mute
The preterite of silenciar is regular: silencié, silenciaste, silenció, silenciamos, silenciasteis, silenciaron.
silenciar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'silenciar' to talk about a specific, completed action of muting something in the past. For example, you muted your phone at a certain time, or someone muted a microphone during a specific event.
Notes on silenciar in the Preterite
Silenciar is a regular -ar verb and is fully regular in the preterite tense. Be mindful that the 'nosotros' form 'silenciamos' is identical to the present indicative; context will clarify which tense is meant.
Example Sentences
Silencié mi teléfono antes de entrar a la reunión.
I muted my phone before entering the meeting.
yo
¿Silenciaste la alarma anoche?
Did you mute the alarm last night?
tú
El profesor silenció el ruido de fondo.
The teacher muted the background noise.
él/ella/usted
Ellos silenciaron el micrófono porque había mucho eco.
They muted the microphone because there was a lot of echo.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'silenciaba' instead of the preterite 'silenció' for a single, completed action.
Correct: Use 'silenció' for a specific instance of muting that is finished.
Why: The preterite marks completed actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'silenció' (él/ella/usted).
Correct: The accent on the 'o' in 'silenció' is required.
Why: The accent distinguishes this form from other similar-sounding words and marks the stressed syllable.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'silenciar' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: silencio
The present tense ('silencio', 'silencias', etc.) describes current actions, habits, and general truths.
Imperfect
yo: silenciaba
The imperfect ('silenciaba', 'silenciabas', etc.) describes ongoing or habitual past actions and background details.
Future
yo: silenciaré
The future tense ('silenciaré', 'silenciarás', etc.) indicates actions that will happen later.
Conditional
yo: silenciaría
The conditional ('silenciaría', 'silenciarías', etc.) expresses hypothetical actions ('would mute') or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: silencie
The present subjunctive ('silencie', 'silencies', etc.) is used for wishes, doubts, emotions, and uncertainty in the present.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: silenciara
The imperfect subjunctive ('silenciara'/'silenciase') expresses hypothetical or uncertain past actions, often in 'if' clauses.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: silencia
Use 'silencia' (tú), 'silencie' (usted), 'silenciemos' (nosotros), 'silencien' (ustedes), 'silenciad' (vosotros) for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no silencies
Use 'no silencies' (tú), 'no silencie' (usted), 'no silenciemos' (nosotros), 'no silencien' (ustedes), 'no silenciéis' (vosotros) for negative commands.