sospechar Preterite Conjugation
sospechar — to suspect
Sospechar is regular in the preterite: sospeché, sospechaste, sospechó, sospechamos, sospechasteis, sospecharon.
sospechar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you want to pinpoint the exact moment you first had a suspicion or when a specific investigative event occurred.
Notes on sospechar in the Preterite
Sospechar is fully regular in the preterite. Note that the 'nosotros' form is the same as the present tense.
Example Sentences
En cuanto entró, yo sospeché que algo andaba mal.
As soon as he entered, I suspected something was wrong.
yo
Él sospechó de su vecino inmediatamente.
He suspected his neighbor immediately.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros sospechamos la verdad desde el principio.
We suspected the truth from the beginning.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: sospecho (for past tense)
Correct: sospechó
Why: Forgetting the accent on the third person singular changes the meaning from past to present.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sospecho
Sospechar is regular in the present: sospecho, sospechas, sospecha, sospechamos, sospecháis, sospechan.
Imperfect
yo: sospechaba
Sospechar is regular in the imperfect: sospechaba, sospechabas, sospechaba, sospechábamos, sospechabais, sospechaban.
Future
yo: sospecharé
The future of sospechar is regular: sospecharé, sospecharás, sospechará, sospecharemos, sospecharéis, sospecharán.
Conditional
yo: sospecharía
The conditional of sospechar is regular: sospecharía, sospecharías, sospecharía, sospecharíamos, sospecharíais, sospecharían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sospeche
The present subjunctive of sospechar uses the 'e' endings: sospeche, sospeches, sospeche, sospechemos, sospechéis, sospechen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sospechara
The imperfect subjunctive of sospechar is formed from the 'ellos' preterite: sospechara, sospecharas, sospechara, sospecháramos, sospecharais, sospecharan.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sospecha
The imperative of sospechar follows standard -ar rules: sospecha (tú), sospeche (usted), sospechad (vosotros).
Negative Imperative
yo: no sospeches
The negative imperative of sospechar uses the present subjunctive: no sospeches, no sospeche, no sospechemos, no sospechéis, no sospechen.