
tentar Negative Imperative Conjugation
tentar — to tempt
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive forms: no tientes, no tiente, no tentemos...
tentar Negative Imperative Forms
When to Use the Negative Imperative
Use this to tell someone not to tempt fate or not to touch/feel something.
Notes on tentar in the Negative Imperative
Matches the present subjunctive exactly, including the 'ie' stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Example Sentences
No me tientes con ese pastel.
Don't tempt me with that cake.
tú
No tentemos a la suerte hoy.
Let's not tempt fate today.
nosotros
No tienten al perro mientras come.
Don't provoke (tempt) the dog while he eats.
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'no tienta' for the negative tú command.
Correct: The correct form is 'no tientes'.
Why: Negative commands must use the subjunctive ending (-es for -ar verbs), not the indicative ending.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: tiento
The present tense of tentar features an e-to-ie stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Preterite
yo: tenté
The preterite of tentar is completely regular: tenté, tentaste, tentó, tentamos, tentasteis, tentaron.
Imperfect
yo: tentaba
The imperfect of tentar is regular: tentaba, tentabas, tentaba, tentábamos, tentabais, tentaban.
Future
yo: tentaré
The future tense is regular; simply add the endings to the infinitive: tentaré, tentarás, tentará...
Conditional
yo: tentaría
The conditional is regular: tentaría, tentarías, tentaría, tentaríamos, tentaríais, tentarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: tiente
The present subjunctive of tentar follows the e-to-ie stem change: tiente, tientes, tiente, tentemos, tentéis, tienten.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: tentara
The imperfect subjunctive is regular: tentara, tentaras, tentara, tentáramos, tentarais, tentaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: tienta
The imperative uses 'tienta' (tú) and 'tiente' (usted), following the stem change.