complacer means: to please, to satisfy
Click to see all conjugation charts of complacer in every tense

In this conjugation lesson we are going to learn how to conjugate the verb complacer in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.

This lesson is specifically about the complacer verb conjugation. For a general overview of Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at our Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.

You may also see the Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Pretérito. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you can find additional information on conjugation in this tense as well as explanation of exceptions and special cases.

How to translate Pretérito to English

Notice that the English phrases provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:

• In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
• Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
• Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
• In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.

Note the timeline

The ability to accurately locate the desired position on the timeline is a crucial skill for proper choice of tenses. So pay attention to the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while speaking, listening, writing and reading. After a bit practice you’ll be capable of selecting the right tense to use much easier.

Step by step instructions

Pretérito belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of its inflected forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in Spanish language, where each conjugated form consists of two words.The verb complacer has an almost regular conjugation in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. An exception is the first person singular, which has an irregular form. It means the other persons simply follow the general rules for this conjugation group (-er) without further exceptions or spelling corrections. The basis for the conjugation in this tense is the stem of the verb, so we start by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s easy to do. Just remove two letters from the end of the infinitive form to get the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of the verb complacer it’s easy to see that:

• the stem is: complac-
• and the ending is: -er

Use the stem complac- in each subject as the basis for the conjugations, the common prefix or root that each of the forms begins with. Next, add to this regular stem the endings specific to each person. See the image on the side showing all the six endings. Notice the colors and shapes of the letters. They are arranged to help you find patterns and make it easier to remember these endings.Each grammatical person has a specific ending in each of the three conjugation groups -ar, -er, -ir. Add the regular ending -í for the first person singular to create complací:

• yo complací – I pleased

Similarly add the regular ending -iste for the second person singular to create complaciste:

• tú complaciste – you pleased

Similarly add the regular ending -ió for the third person singular to create complació:

• él complació – he pleased
• ella complació – she pleased
• usted complació – (formal) you pleased

Once more add the regular ending -imos for the first person plural to create complacimos:

• nosotros complacimos – we pleased
• nosotras complacimos – (feminine) we pleased

And add the regular ending -isteis for the second person plural to create complacisteis:

• vosotros complacisteis – (plural) you pleased
• vosotras complacisteis – (feminine, plural) you pleased

One more time add the regular ending -ieron for the third person plural to create complacieron:

• ellos complacieron – they pleased
• ellas complacieron – (feminine) they pleased
• ustedes complacieron – (formal, plural) you pleased

Hurray! The conjugation is now complete. The final result looks as follows:

yo	complací	I pleased
tú	complaciste	you pleased
él/ella/usted	complació	he/she/it pleased
nosotros/nosotras	complacimos	we pleased
vosotros/vosotras	complacisteis	you pleased
ellos/ellas/ustedes	complacieron	they pleased

Click to see all conjugation charts of complacer in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it’s important to repeat and practice the material in order to remember it. Check below for next steps.

Next Steps to Perfection To practice this conjugation and test your knowledge try this Conjugation Exercise or the Memory Game To see other conjugation lessons for this verb choose another tense: PresenteImperfectoCondicionalFuturoPretérito Perfecto CompuestoPretérito PluscuamperfectoFuturo PerfectoCondicional PerfectoPretérito Perfecto Compuesto (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto A (subjuntivo)Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto B (subjuntivo)Futuro Perfecto (subjuntivo)  For exercises and examples related to complacer visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for complacer visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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