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Caer preterite conjugation

Caer in the preterite: caí, caíste, cayó, caímos, caísteis, cayeron.

  • to fall; to drop
  • irregular
  • Participle: caído
  • Gerund: cayendo

Preterite pretérito

yocaí
túcaíste
él/ella/ustedcayó
nosotroscaímos
vosotroscaísteis
ellos/ellas/ustedescayeron

How to use caer in the preterite

The preterite is caí, caíste, cayó, caímos, cayeron. The third-person forms use y, and the others need an accent on the í. Use it for falls and drops (me caí, se cayó el vaso), for systems or calls going down (se cayó la llamada) and for realizations: caí en la cuenta de que... Se me cayó means 'I dropped it', presenting it as an accident rather than something done on purpose.

Examples

  • Se me cayó el celular y se rompió la pantalla.

    I dropped my phone and the screen cracked.

  • Se cayó la llamada; te marco otra vez.

    The call dropped; I'll call you back.

  • Los precios del petróleo cayeron casi un cinco por ciento.

    Oil prices fell almost five percent.

Quick check: caer in the preterite

1. nosotros · Preterite of caer
2. tú · Preterite of caer
3. él/ella/usted · Preterite of caer
4. yo · Preterite of caer
5. ellos/ellas/ustedes · Preterite of caer

More caer tenses

Other verbs in the preterite

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