Atrapamos

Atrapamos is the first-person plural form of the Spanish verb atrapar. It appears in two common tenses: the present indicative, meaning we catch or we are catching, and the pretérito perfecto simple (simple past), meaning we caught or we trapped. Because the form is identical in both tenses for the nosotros form, context determines the intended meaning.

Conjugation in the present and past

In the present indicative, the full set is: yo atrapo, tú atrapas, él atrapa, nosotros atrapamos, vosotros atrapáis, ellos atrapan. In the pretérito perfecto simple, the nosotros form is the same spelling as the present: atrapamos, while other forms are: yo atrapé, tú atrapaste, él atrapó, vosotros atrapasteis, ellos atraparon. The ambiguity of a single form in the nosotros person is common across related tenses in Spanish and is resolved by context.

Meaning and usage

Atrapar means to seize, capture, or trap someone or something, often by grasping, enclosing, or preventing escape. It is used for people, animals, objects, or situations in which capture or catching is involved. In sports, it can describe catching a ball or securing possession. In law enforcement or everyday language, it can refer to apprehending a criminal or catching someone in the act. The form atrapar in other tenses conveys related senses, such as atrapo in the present or atrapé in the past, with nuances shaped by sentence context.

Etymology and related forms

The verb atrapar is a native Spanish verb with common Romance-language roots shared across the family of languages. Its related forms include atrapar (to catch), atrapado (caught, as an adjective or past participle), and related nouns such as atrapamiento (the act of catching or trapping).