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Conjugation Chart

“Traducir” (to translate) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Traducir”

The preterite of traducir is used to express a completed action of translating in the past. For example, you might say “I translated the document yesterday afternoon,” indicating a specific moment when the translation was completed.

This is an irregular verb in the preterite tense. The stem changes to ‘traduj-‘ before adding the preterite endings, following a pattern similar to other -ducir verbs.

How to Use Traducir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The preterite of traducir expresses a completed action of translating in the past.

To translate: Describes converting text or speech from one language to another, for example Traduje el documento al inglés (I translated the document into English) or Tradujo el libro en tres meses (He/she translated the book in three months).

To interpret/convey: Used for conveying meaning or ideas, for example Tradujo sus sentimientos en poesía (He/she translated their feelings into poetry).

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

Traduje el documento al español. (I translated the document into Spanish.)

¿Tradujiste el artículo completo? (Did you translate the entire article?)

Ella tradujo el libro en seis meses. (She translated the book in six months.)

Tradujimos la carta para el cliente. (We translated the letter for the client.)

Los estudiantes tradujeron el poema. (The students translated the poem.)

Traduje el mensaje inmediatamente. (I translated the message immediately.)

¿Tradujiste las instrucciones correctamente? (Did you translate the instructions correctly?)

El intérprete tradujo el discurso. (The interpreter translated the speech.)

Tradujimos el contrato al inglés. (We translated the contract into English.)

Los expertos tradujeron el manuscrito antiguo. (The experts translated the ancient manuscript.)

Traduje el correo electrónico para mi jefe. (I translated the email for my boss.)

¿Cuántas páginas tradujiste ayer? (How many pages did you translate yesterday?)

La agencia tradujo el sitio web. (The agency translated the website.)

Tradujimos los subtítulos de la película. (We translated the movie subtitles.)

Los voluntarios tradujeron los folletos. (The volunteers translated the brochures.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Traducir (to translate) 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.