vivir Preterite Conjugation
vivir — to live
The preterite of vivir is regular: viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron.
vivir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when talking about living in a place for a specific, finished period of time. It marks a completed chapter of your life.
Notes on vivir in the Preterite
Vivir is regular in the preterite. Note that the 'nosotros' form 'vivimos' is the same as the present tense.
Example Sentences
Viví en Londres durante tres años.
I lived in London for three years.
yo
Él vivió una vida muy larga y feliz.
He lived a very long and happy life.
él/ella/usted
Ellos vivieron en esa casa hasta el año pasado.
They lived in that house until last year.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: vivio
Correct: vivió
Why: The third-person singular needs an accent on the 'ó' to distinguish it from other forms and indicate stress.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: vivo
Vivir is a regular -ir verb in the present: vivo, vives, vive, vivimos, vivís, viven.
Imperfect
yo: vivía
Vivir in the imperfect follows the regular -ir pattern: vivía, vivías, vivía, vivíamos, vivíais, vivían.
Future
yo: viviré
The future of vivir uses the infinitive as the stem: viviré, vivirás, vivirá, viviremos, viviréis, vivirán.
Conditional
yo: viviría
The conditional of vivir uses the infinitive plus -ía endings: viviría, vivirías, viviría, viviríamos, viviríais, vivirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: viva
The present subjunctive of vivir uses the -a endings: viva, vivas, viva, vivamos, viváis, vivan.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: viviera
The imperfect subjunctive of vivir stems from 'vivieron': viviera, vivieras, viviera, viviéramos, vivierais, vivieran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: vive
The imperative of vivir uses 'vive' for tú and 'viva/vivan' for formal commands.
Negative Imperative
yo: no vivas
The negative imperative of vivir matches the present subjunctive: no vivas, no viva, no vivamos, no viváis, no vivan.