agradecer

Agradecer is a Spanish verb that means to express gratitude or to thank someone for something, or to be grateful for a circumstance. It is a transitive verb that commonly takes a recipient introduced by the preposition a (agradecer a alguien) and a thing or action as the direct object (agradezco tu ayuda). The noun form, agradecimiento, denotes the act or feeling of gratitude.

Etymology: The verb derives from Latin gratus or gratia, meaning favor, grace, or thanks, combined with a suffix that forms verbs meaning “to cause” or “to make.” The sense of expressing gratitude is central to its modern use, and related terms include gratitud and agradecido.

Conjugation: Agradecer is a regular -er verb with orthographic change in the first-person singular present tense, giving agradezco. Principal forms include: present—agradezco, agradeces, agradece, agradecemos, agradecéis, agradecen; preterite—agradecí, agradeciste, agradeció, agradecimos, agradecisteis, agradecieron; imperfect—agradecía, agradecías, agradecía, agradecíamos, agradecíais, agradecían; subjunctive present—agradezca, agradezcas, agradezca, agradezcamos, agradezcáis, agradezcan; imperative—agradece, agradezca, agradezcamos, agradeced, agradezcan; participle—agradecido; gerund—agradeciendo.

Usage notes: Agradecer is commonly used to thank a person for something, as in Te agradezco tu ayuda. It can appear with que clauses to express appreciation for a situation (Agradezco que hayas venido). In everyday speech, “dar las gracias” is a more informal alternative, while agradecer tends to be formal or written. The adjective agradecido means grateful.

See also: agradecimiento, gratitud.