adoptó

Adoptó is a Spanish verb form that functions as the third-person singular in the preterite tense of the verb adoptar. It indicates a completed action in the past in which someone or something was adopted, whether a person, an animal, a policy, a method, or a stance. The form is commonly used in narrations or reports to indicate a past event or decision.

Etymology and grammar: Adoptar derives from Latin adoptare, from ad- “to” plus optare “to choose.” In Spanish, adoptar is a regular -ar verb, and its preterite forms are yo adopté, tú adoptaste, él/ella/usted adoptó, nosotros adoptamos, vosotros adoptasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes adoptaron. The accents in adopted forms (adopté, adoptó) mark the stressed syllable and help distinguish tenses and persons.

Usage: Adoptó is versatile and appears in contexts involving taking someone or something as one’s own or taking up a new role or rule. Examples include: “Ella adoptó un perro” (She adopted a dog); “El comité adoptó una resolución” (The committee adopted a resolution); “La familia adoptó a un niño” (The family adopted a child); “La ciudad adoptó nuevas medidas” (The city adopted new measures). The term is also used with abstract objects, such as ideas, postures, or policies, with the meaning of accepting or embracing them.

Related forms: Beyond adoptó, other tenses and moods of adoptar include adopta (present), adoptaba (imperfect), adoptaría (conditional), adopte (present subjunctive). The noun form for the act is adopción.