sobrevivió
so-bre-vi-vi-Ó
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
El perro sobrevivió al incendio gracias a los bomberos.
B1The dog survived the fire thanks to the firefighters.
¿Cómo sobrevivió usted a la guerra? Fue terrible.
B2How did you (formal) survive the war? It was terrible.
Ella sobrevivió a todos sus hermanos, vivió 100 años.
C1She outlived all her siblings; she lived 100 years.
💡 Grammar Points
The Simple Past Tense
The form 'sobrevivió' tells you that the action of surviving happened once and finished completely in the past.
Using the Preposition 'A'
When saying what was survived, Spanish almost always uses the word 'a' (to) right before the threat: 'Sobrevivió al accidente' (He survived the accident).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing Simple Past with Imperfect
Mistake: "Usar 'sobrevivía' para un evento único."
Correction: Use 'sobrevivió' (simple past) for a specific, completed event, like 'Sobrevivió el terremoto.' Use 'sobrevivía' (imperfect) only to describe how they lived over a long period.
⭐ Usage Tips
Focus on the Accent Mark
The accent mark on the 'ó' is essential. It signals that this verb form is in the simple past (preterite) and sounds stronger on the last syllable.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
preterite
imperfect
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: sobrevivió
Question 1 of 2
Which of these sentences correctly uses 'sobrevivió'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'sobrevivió' a regular or irregular verb?
It is a conjugation of the verb 'sobrevivir,' which is a regular verb. It follows the standard pattern for verbs ending in -ir, making it very predictable and easy to conjugate in all tenses.
What is the base form of 'sobrevivió'?
The base form, or infinitive, is 'sobrevivir' (to survive).