testificar Preterite Conjugation
testificar — to testify
The preterite of testificar includes a spelling change in the 'yo' form (testifiqué) to maintain the hard 'c' sound.
testificar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when talking about a specific instance where someone gave testimony in court or witnessed a specific event at a fixed point in time.
Notes on testificar in the Preterite
This is a -car verb. In the 'yo' form, the 'c' changes to 'qu' (testifiqué) before the 'é' to keep the 'k' sound. All other forms are regular.
Example Sentences
Yo testifiqué a favor de mi vecino en el juicio.
I testified in favor of my neighbor at the trial.
yo
El testigo testificó durante tres horas.
The witness testified for three hours.
él/ella/usted
Mis padres testificaron que yo estaba en casa.
My parents testified that I was at home.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: testificé
Correct: testifiqué
Why: In Spanish, 'ce' sounds like 'se' or 'the'. To keep the hard 'k' sound of the infinitive, you must use 'qu'.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: testifico
The present tense of testificar is completely regular: testifico, testificas, testifica, testificamos, testificáis, testifican.
Imperfect
yo: testificaba
The imperfect of testificar is regular: testificaba, testificabas, testificaba, testificábamos, testificabais, testificaban.
Future
yo: testificaré
The future tense of testificar is regular: just add the endings to the infinitive (testificaré, testificarás, etc.).
Conditional
yo: testificaría
The conditional of testificar is regular: testificaría, testificarías, testificaría, testificaríamos, testificaríais, testificarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: testifique
The present subjunctive of testificar uses 'qu' in all forms: testifique, testifiques, testifique, testifiquemos, testifiquéis, testifiquen.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: testificara
The imperfect subjunctive of testificar is regular: testificara, testificaras, testificara, testificáramos, testificarais, testificaran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: testifica
The imperative of testificar gives commands: testifica (tú), testifique (usted), testifiquemos (nosotros), testificad (vosotros), testifiquen (ustedes).
Negative Imperative
yo: no testifiques
The negative imperative uses 'no' plus the present subjunctive: no testifiques, no testifique, no testifiquemos, no testifiquéis, no testifiquen.