sumir Preterite Conjugation
sumir — to plunge
The preterite of 'sumir' is regular: sumí, sumiste, sumió, sumimos, sumisteis, sumieron.
sumir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite of 'sumir' to talk about a specific, completed instance of plunging into something. Think of a single, finished action, like someone plunging into cold water at a particular moment.
Notes on sumir in the Preterite
'Sumir' is a regular -ir verb, so its preterite conjugation follows the standard pattern: stem 'sum-' plus the endings -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Example Sentences
Yo sumí en un profundo silencio.
I plunged into a deep silence.
yo
¿Tú sumiste en la meditación?
Did you plunge into meditation?
tú
Él sumió en sus pensamientos.
He plunged into his thoughts.
él/ella/usted
Nosotros sumimos en la tarea.
We plunged into the task.
nosotros
Ellos sumieron en la desesperación.
They plunged into despair.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using the imperfect 'sumía' instead of the preterite 'sumí' for a completed action.
Correct: Use 'sumí' for a single, completed act of plunging, like 'Sumí en el agua fría ayer'.
Why: The preterite marks completed actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
Mistake: Forgetting the accent on 'sumió' and 'sumí'.
Correct: The él/ella/usted form is 'sumió' (with an accent on 'o') and the yo form is 'sumí' (with an accent on 'i').
Why: These accents mark the stressed syllable and distinguish these forms.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: sumo
The present tense of 'sumir' is regular: sumo, sumes, sume, sumimos, sumís, sumen.
Imperfect
yo: sumía
The imperfect of 'sumir' is regular: sumía, sumías, sumía, sumíamos, sumíais, sumían.
Future
yo: sumiré
The future tense of 'sumir' is regular: sumiré, sumirás, sumirá, sumiremos, sumiréis, sumirán.
Conditional
yo: sumiría
The conditional of 'sumir' is regular: sumiría, sumirías, sumiría, sumiríamos, sumiríais, sumirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: suma
The present subjunctive of 'sumir' (sumas, sumas, suma, sumamos, sumáis, sumen) is used after expressions of doubt, desire, emotion, and uncertainty.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: sumiera
The imperfect subjunctive of 'sumir' (sumiera, sumieras, sumiera, sumiéramos, sumierais, sumieran) is used for past hypotheticals and wishes.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: sume
Commands like 'sume' (you singular) and 'sumid' (you plural, Spain) are irregular, while others like 'sumamos' (we) are regular.
Negative Imperative
yo: no sumas
All negative commands for 'sumir' are formed using 'no' plus the present subjunctive, like 'no sumas' (you singular) and 'no sumamos' (we).