sonreír Preterite Conjugation
sonreír — to smile
Sonreír is a stem-changer in the preterite, changing 'e' to 'i' in the third-person forms: sonrió and sonrieron.
sonreír Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when someone smiled at a specific moment or in response to a particular event that has a clear beginning and end.
Notes on sonreír in the Preterite
This verb undergoes a stem change (e > i) only in the third-person singular and plural. Also, note the written accents on almost every form to maintain the correct stress on the 'i'.
Example Sentences
Ella me sonrió cuando me vio entrar.
She smiled at me when she saw me enter.
él/ella/usted
Sonreí para la foto de grupo.
I smiled for the group photo.
yo
Ellos sonrieron al escuchar la noticia.
They smiled upon hearing the news.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: sonreió
Correct: sonrió
Why: In the third-person singular, the 'e' changes to 'i' and the 'e' of the ending is dropped to avoid a triple vowel sound.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sonrío
Sonreír features a stem change (e > í) in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: sonreía
The imperfect of sonreír is regular: sonreía, sonreías, sonreía, sonreíamos, sonreíais, sonreían.
Future
yo: sonreiré
Sonreír is regular in the future: just add the endings -é, -ás, -á, -emos, -éis, -án to the infinitive.
Conditional
yo: sonreiría
The conditional of sonreír is regular: sonreiría, sonreirías, sonreiría, sonreiríamos, sonreiríais, sonreirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sonría
The present subjunctive changes the 'e' to 'í' (sonría) or 'i' (sonriamos).
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sonriera
The imperfect subjunctive is built from the third-person plural preterite: sonriera, sonrieras, sonriera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sonríe
The imperative uses sonríe (tú) and sonría (usted) to command someone to smile.
Negative Imperative
yo: no sonrías
The negative imperative uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no sonrías, no sonría.