The preterite of atacar is used to express a specific instance of attacking in the past, for example El león atacó al cazador (The lion attacked the hunter). This tense emphasizes the completed action of attacking at a particular moment.

This verb requires a spelling change in the first person singular, where ‘c’ changes to ‘qu’ before ‘é’ to maintain the same sound. Otherwise, it follows the regular -ar verb pattern in the preterite.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Atacar (to attack) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of atacar describes a completed action of attacking or assaulting in the past.

To attack/assault: Describes an aggressive action, for example El perro atacó sin provocación (The dog attacked without provocation) or Los virus atacaron el sistema (The viruses attacked the system).

To criticize harshly: Used figuratively for verbal attacks, for example La prensa atacó al gobierno (The press attacked the government).

Examples

Examples of Atacar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Ataqué el problema desde otro ángulo. (I attacked the problem from another angle.)

Atacaste la fortaleza con valentía. (You attacked the fortress bravely.)

El virus atacó el sistema inmune. (The virus attacked the immune system.)

Atacamos el proyecto con entusiasmo. (We attacked the project with enthusiasm.)

Los críticos atacaron la nueva película. (The critics attacked the new movie.)

Ataqué la tarea sin demora. (I attacked the task without delay.)

Atacaste el argumento con lógica. (You attacked the argument with logic.)

El equipo atacó en el último minuto. (The team attacked in the last minute.)

Atacamos el obstáculo juntos. (We attacked the obstacle together.)

Los hackers atacaron la red. (The hackers attacked the network.)

Ataqué mis miedos directamente. (I attacked my fears directly.)

Atacaste el ejercicio con determinación. (You attacked the exercise with determination.)

La tormenta atacó la costa. (The storm attacked the coast.)

Atacamos el debate preparados. (We attacked the debate prepared.)

Los competidores atacaron en la última vuelta. (The competitors attacked in the final lap.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Atacar (to attack) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.