The preterite of reconocer is used to express a specific instance of recognizing something or someone in the past, for example Lo reconocí inmediatamente (I recognized him immediately). This tense emphasizes the completed action of recognition at a particular moment.

This is a regular -er verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. It retains the ‘c’ throughout all forms to maintain the soft ‘c’ sound before ‘e’ and ‘i’.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Reconocer (to recognize) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of reconocer expresses a completed action of recognizing or acknowledging in the past.

To recognize: Describes identifying someone or something, for example Lo reconocí inmediatamente (I recognized him immediately) or No reconoció a su viejo amigo (He/she didn’t recognize their old friend).

To acknowledge/admit: Used for accepting or admitting something, for example Reconoció su error (He/she acknowledged their mistake).

Examples

Examples of Reconocer in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Reconocí mi error inmediatamente. (I recognized my mistake immediately.)

Reconociste a tu viejo amigo en la calle. (You recognized your old friend on the street.)

El jurado reconoció su talento. (The jury recognized their talent.)

Reconocimos la importancia del momento. (We recognized the importance of the moment.)

Los expertos reconocieron la autenticidad del cuadro. (The experts recognized the authenticity of the painting.)

Reconocí su voz por teléfono. (I recognized their voice on the phone.)

Reconociste la melodía de inmediato. (You recognized the melody immediately.)

El gobierno reconoció sus logros. (The government recognized their achievements.)

Reconocimos las señales de peligro. (We recognized the danger signs.)

Los científicos reconocieron el descubrimiento. (The scientists recognized the discovery.)

Reconocí la urgencia de la situación. (I recognized the urgency of the situation.)

Reconociste tus limitaciones. (You recognized your limitations.)

La empresa reconoció su excelente trabajo. (The company recognized their excellent work.)

Reconocimos la necesidad de cambiar. (We recognized the need to change.)

Los jueces reconocieron su inocencia. (The judges recognized their innocence.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Reconocer (to recognize) 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.