iniciar means: to initiate, to begin, to boot, to commence, to initialize, to start, to start off
Click to see all conjugation charts of iniciar in every tense

In this Spanish conjugation lesson we will learn how to inflect the verb iniciar 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 iniciar conjugation. For an overview of Simple Tenses conjugation check 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 may see additional information on conjugation in this tense as well as explanation of exceptions and special cases.

How to translate Pretérito to English

Note 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 an important skill for proper choice of tenses. So note the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while listening, speaking, 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 the conjugated forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in the Spanish language, where each conjugated verb form consists of two words.The verb iniciar has a completely regular conjugation in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. It means that this verb follows the basic rules for its conjugation group (-ar) without any exceptions or spelling corrections. The basis for this conjugation is the stem of the verb, so we need to start by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s really easy to do. Just remove two letters from the end of the infinitive to get the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of the verb iniciar it’s easy to see that:

• the stem is: inici-
• and the ending is: -ar

Use the stem inici- in each person 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. Analyze the image showing all six endings. Notice both the shapes and colors of the letters. It should 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 -é for the first person singular to create inicié:

• yo inicié – I initiated

And similarly add the regular ending -aste for the second person singular to create iniciaste:

• tú iniciaste – you initiated

Also as in the previous case add the regular ending -ó for the third person singular to create inició:

• él inició – he initiated
• ella inició – she initiated
• usted inició – (formal) you initiated

Once more add the regular ending -amos for the first person plural to create iniciamos:

• nosotros iniciamos – we initiated
• nosotras iniciamos – (feminine) we initiated

Again add the regular ending -asteis for the second person plural to create iniciasteis:

• vosotros iniciasteis – (plural) you initiated
• vosotras iniciasteis – (feminine, plural) you initiated

Again add the regular ending -aron for the third person plural to create iniciaron:

• ellos iniciaron – they initiated
• ellas iniciaron – (feminine) they initiated
• ustedes iniciaron – (formal, plural) you initiated

This is it! The conjugation is now finished. The final result looks as follows:

yo	inicié	I initiated
tú	iniciaste	you initiated
él/ella/usted	inició	he/she/it initiated
nosotros/nosotras	iniciamos	we initiated
vosotros/vosotras	iniciasteis	you initiated
ellos/ellas/ustedes	iniciaron	they initiated

Click to see all conjugation charts of iniciar in every tense
But do not end your session yet – it is very 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 skills check 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 iniciar visit our Exercise section To see conjugation charts in all tenses for iniciar visit the Conjugator To explore other learning materials visit the Study section

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