compró
kom-PROH
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
Ella compró un café grande esta mañana.
A1She bought a large coffee this morning.
Mi padre compró la casa hace diez años.
A1My father bought the house ten years ago.
¿Usted compró el regalo para la fiesta?
A2Did you (formal) buy the gift for the party?
💡 Grammar Points
The Preterite Tense
This form ('compró') is part of the preterite tense, which Spanish uses to talk about actions that started and finished at a specific point in the past, like a transaction.
The Accent Mark
The accent on the 'ó' is essential! It tells you the stress is on the last syllable and signals that the action happened definitively in the past (He/She/You bought).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing Past Tenses
Mistake: "Usando 'compraba' (imperfect) en lugar de 'compró' (preterite) para una acción terminada."
Correction: Use 'compró' when the buying action is a single, finished event. 'Compraba' means 'was buying' or 'used to buy' repeatedly.
⭐ Usage Tips
Identifying the Subject
'Compró' can refer to 'él' (he), 'ella' (she), or 'usted' (you, formal). You often need the context or the subject noun (like 'Mi jefe') to know who did the buying.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: compró
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence correctly uses 'compró'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does 'compró' have an accent mark?
The accent mark is required to show where the stress falls in the word, which is on the final 'o'. This is a consistent rule for the third-person singular form of all regular -AR verbs in the preterite tense (e.g., 'habló', 'estudió').
Can 'compró' mean 'it bought'?
Yes. If the subject is an inanimate object or an organization that acts like a single entity (like 'el banco' or 'la compañía'), you use 'compró'.