traducir Preterite Conjugation
traducir — to translate
Traducir is a 'j-stem' irregular verb in the preterite: traduje, tradujiste, tradujo...
traducir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for a translation task that was completed at a specific point in the past.
Notes on traducir in the Preterite
Traducir belongs to the 'j-group'. The 'c' changes to 'j', and it uses special endings (e, iste, o, imos, isteis, eron). Note that the 'ellos' form is 'tradujeron', not 'tradujieron'.
Example Sentences
Yo traduje el informe ayer por la tarde.
I translated the report yesterday afternoon.
yo
¿Quién tradujo esta frase?
Who translated this sentence?
él/ella/usted
Ellos tradujeron el sitio web al español.
They translated the website into Spanish.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Saying 'tradujieron' for the they/them form.
Correct: tradujeron
Why: Verbs with a 'j' stem drop the 'i' in the 'ieron' ending.
Mistake: Using 'traducí' for the 'yo' form.
Correct: traduje
Why: Traducir follows the irregular 'j' pattern, not the regular -ir pattern.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: traduzco
Traducir is mostly regular, except for the 'yo' form: traduzco.
Imperfect
yo: traducía
The imperfect of traducir is regular: traducía, traducías, traducía...
Future
yo: traduciré
The future of traducir is regular: traduciré, traducirás, traducirá...
Conditional
yo: traduciría
The conditional of traducir is regular: traduciría, traducirías, traduciría...
Present Subjunctive
yo: traduzca
Traducir uses the 'zc' spelling change (traduzca) for all people in the present subjunctive.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: tradujera
The imperfect subjunctive of traducir uses the 'j' stem: tradujera, tradujeras, tradujera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: traduce
Use 'traduce' for friends (tú) and 'traduzca' for formal situations (usted).
Negative Imperative
yo: no traduzcas
The negative imperative always uses the 'zc' forms: no traduzcas, no traduzca...