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Conjugation Chart of “Colocar” (to place) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Colocar”

The preterite of colocar is used to express a specific instance of placing something in the past, for example Coloqué el libro en la mesa (I placed the book on the table). This tense emphasizes the completed action of placing 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.

How to Use Colocar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The preterite of colocar describes a completed action of placing or positioning in the past.

To place/put: Describes putting something in a specific position, for example Coloqué el libro en el estante (I placed the book on the shelf) or Colocaron los muebles en la sala (They placed the furniture in the living room).

To arrange/position: Used for organizing items in a specific way, for example Colocó las flores en el jarrón (He/she arranged the flowers in the vase).

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

Coloqué los libros en el estante. (I placed the books on the shelf.)

Colocaste las flores en el jarrón. (You placed the flowers in the vase.)

El artista colocó la escultura en el centro. (The artist placed the sculpture in the center.)

Colocamos los muebles en la sala. (We placed the furniture in the living room.)

Los trabajadores colocaron el cartel publicitario. (The workers placed the advertising sign.)

Coloqué las llaves en la mesa. (I placed the keys on the table.)

Colocaste la alfombra en el piso. (You placed the carpet on the floor.)

El mesero colocó los platos en la mesa. (The waiter placed the plates on the table.)

Colocamos las decoraciones navideñas. (We placed the Christmas decorations.)

Los jardineros colocaron las plantas nuevas. (The gardeners placed the new plants.)

Coloqué el cuadro en la pared. (I placed the painting on the wall.)

Colocaste los documentos en orden. (You placed the documents in order.)

El técnico colocó la antena correctamente. (The technician placed the antenna correctly.)

Colocamos las sillas alrededor de la mesa. (We placed the chairs around the table.)

Los organizadores colocaron los carteles informativos. (The organizers placed the informative posters.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Colocar (to place) in the Preterite (Past) 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.