surgir Preterite Conjugation
surgir — to arise
The preterite of surgir is regular: surgí, surgiste, surgió, surgimos, surgisteis, surgieron.
surgir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when a specific event or problem suddenly 'popped up' at a distinct point in time in the past.
Notes on surgir in the Preterite
Surgir is completely regular in the preterite. Note that the 'g' stays a 'g' here because it is followed by 'i' or 'e', which naturally keeps the soft sound.
Example Sentences
Surgió una oportunidad increíble ayer.
An incredible opportunity arose yesterday.
él/ella/usted
Surgieron complicaciones durante el viaje.
Complications arose during the trip.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
En cuanto llegué, me surgió una duda.
As soon as I arrived, a doubt occurred to me.
él/ella/usted
Common Mistakes
Mistake: surjió
Correct: surgió
Why: Learners often over-correct the 'g' to 'j' change. In the preterite, 'g' followed by 'i' already makes the correct sound.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: surjo
The present of surgir undergoes a spelling change in the 'yo' form (surjo) to keep the 'h' sound.
Imperfect
yo: surgía
The imperfect of surgir is regular: surgía, surgías, surgía, surgíamos, surgíais, surgían.
Future
yo: surgiré
The future of surgir is regular: surgiré, surgirás, surgirá, surgiremos, surgiréis, surgirán.
Conditional
yo: surgiría
The conditional of surgir is regular: surgiría, surgirías, surgiría, surgiríamos, surgiríais, surgirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: surja
The present subjunctive of surgir uses the 'j' spelling in all forms: surja, surjas, surja, surjamos, surjáis, surjan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: surgiera
The imperfect subjunctive of surgir is regular, based on the 'surgieron' stem: surgiera, surgieras, surgiera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: surge
The imperative of surgir is rarely used for people, but commonly used for ideas or things: surge, surja, surjamos.
Negative Imperative
yo: no surjas
The negative imperative of surgir always uses the 'j' spelling: no surjas, no surja, no surjan.