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Conjugation Chart of “Mentir” (to lie) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Mentir”

The preterite of mentir is used to express when someone told a lie at a specific moment in the past. For example, “He lied to me yesterday” – “Me mintió ayer.”

This verb follows the e to i stem-changing pattern in the preterite, but only in the third person forms. The ‘e’ changes to ‘i’ in mintió and mintieron, while other forms maintain the ‘e’.

How to Use Mentir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of mentir expresses specific instances of lying.

To lie (specific instance): Used for telling specific untruths, for example Mintió sobre su edad (She lied about her age), or Mintieron en su declaración (They lied in their statement).

To deceive: Describes deliberate deception, for example Me mintió completamente (He completely lied to me).

Real Life Examples of Mentir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

El político mintió sobre sus impuestos. (The politician lied about his taxes.)

¿Por qué me mentiste sobre la fiesta? (Why did you lie to me about the party?)

Nunca mentí sobre mis intenciones. (I never lied about my intentions.)

Los niños mintieron sobre quién rompió el jarrón. (The children lied about who broke the vase.)

Mentimos para proteger sus sentimientos. (We lied to protect their feelings.)

El testigo mintió bajo juramento. (The witness lied under oath.)

Me mentiste cuando dijiste que estabas ocupado. (You lied to me when you said you were busy.)

Ella mintió sobre su edad en la solicitud. (She lied about her age on the application.)

Mintieron sobre el verdadero costo del proyecto. (They lied about the true cost of the project.)

Le mentí a mi jefe sobre por qué llegué tarde. (I lied to my boss about why I was late.)

Mentiste cuando dijiste que habías terminado el trabajo. (You lied when you said you had finished the work.)

El conductor mintió sobre el accidente. (The driver lied about the accident.)

Mintieron en sus declaraciones oficiales. (They lied in their official statements.)

Mentimos por primera vez en nuestra vida. (We lied for the first time in our lives.)

El empleado mintió sobre sus credenciales. (The employee lied about their credentials.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Mentir (to lie) in the Preterite (Past) Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.