sujetar Preterite Conjugation
sujetar — to hold
Use preterite forms like 'sujeté' and 'sujetó' for completed actions in the past.
sujetar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
The preterite is for actions that started and finished at a specific point in the past. Think of it as a snapshot: you held something, and then you stopped.
Notes on sujetar in the Preterite
Sujetar is regular in the preterite. All the endings are standard for -ar verbs in this tense.
Example Sentences
Ayer sujeté la caja por cinco minutos.
Yesterday I held the box for five minutes.
yo
¿Tú sujetaste el volante bien durante la lluvia?
Did you hold the steering wheel well during the rain?
tú
Ella sujetó al bebé con cuidado.
She held the baby carefully.
él/ella/usted
Los manifestantes sujetaron las pancartas.
The protesters held the signs.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect instead of the preterite for a single, completed action, like 'Yo sujetaba la puerta'.
Correct: Use 'Yo sujeté la puerta' if you are talking about closing it at a specific moment.
Why: The imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions, while the preterite describes completed ones.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on the 'yo' form ('sujete' instead of 'sujeté').
Correct: The correct 'yo' form is 'sujeté'.
Why: The accent mark on the final 'é' is crucial for distinguishing the first-person singular preterite from other forms and indicates the stressed syllable.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sujeto
Use present forms like 'sujeto' and 'sujetan' for current or habitual actions.
Imperfect
yo: sujetaba
Use imperfect forms like 'sujetaba' and 'sujetaban' for ongoing or habitual past actions.
Future
yo: sujetaré
Use future forms like 'sujetaré' and 'sujetarán' for actions that will happen.
Conditional
yo: sujetaría
Use conditional forms like 'sujetaría' and 'sujetarían' for hypothetical situations or polite requests.
Present Subjunctive
yo: sujete
Use present subjunctive forms like 'sujete' and 'sujeten' for wishes, doubts, and uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sujetara
Use imperfect subjunctive forms like 'sujetara' or 'sujetase' for past hypotheticals or wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sujeta
Use imperative forms like 'sujeta' and 'sujeten' for direct commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no sujetes
Use negative commands like 'no sujetes' and 'no sujeten' with the present subjunctive.