Creer preterite conjugation
Creer in the preterite: creí, creíste, creyó, creímos, creísteis, creyeron.
- to believe; to think
- spelling change (i→y)
- Participle: creído
- Gerund: creyendo
Preterite pretérito
| yo | creí |
|---|---|
| tú | creíste |
| él/ella/usted | creyó |
| nosotros | creímos |
| vosotros | creísteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | creyeron |
How to use creer in the preterite
In the preterite, creer has a spelling change in the third person: creyó, creyeron. The other forms carry an accent: creí, creíste, creímos. "Creí que..." means "I thought..." about a mistaken belief: "Creí que eras tú." This is very useful when a misunderstanding happens at work. The y in creyó appears because the i sits between two vowels, the same change you see in leer (leyó).
Examples
Creí que ya habías enviado el correo.
I thought you had already sent the email.
El jurado no le creyó al testigo.
The jury didn't believe the witness.
¿Creíste lo que dijo en la junta?
Did you believe what he said in the meeting?
Quick check: creer in the preterite
More creer tenses
- All creer tenses
- Creer present
- Creer imperfect
- Creer future
- Creer conditional
- Creer present subjunctive
- Creer affirmative commands
Other verbs in the preterite
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