citamos

Citamos is the present indicative and the preterite first-person plural form of the verb citar in Spanish and Portuguese, meaning to quote or to cite. In both languages, it is used to indicate that the speaker or authors are citing sources, naming authorities, or referencing information.

Etymology and meaning: The verb citar derives from Latin citare, meaning to summon, mention, or quote. In modern Spanish and Portuguese, citar is used in academic, journalistic, legal, and everyday contexts to introduce or acknowledge sources. The form citamos specifically denotes “we cite” in present tense or “we cited” in the preterite, depending on the tense of the sentence.

Grammatical notes: In Spanish, citar is a regular -ar verb; present tense forms include cito, citas, cita, citamos, citáis, citan. The preterite forms include cité, citaste, citó, citamos, citasteis, citaron. In Portuguese, citar is a regular -ar verb; present forms include cito, citas, cita, citamos, citáis? (the standard forms are eu cito, tu citas, você cita, nós citamos, vós citais, eles citam). The preterite forms include citei, citaste, citou, citamos, citastes, citaram. The exact form citamos therefore appears in both languages in two different tenses, requiring contextual clues to resolve tense.

Usage examples: In Spanish, “Citamos las fuentes al final del artículo.” In Portuguese, “Nós citamos as fontes no final do artigo.” In both languages, citamos frequently appears in scholarly writing, news reporting, and formal prose to attribute information or quotes to sources.

See also: citation, citación, citação, citar.