consististe

Consististe is the second-person singular preterite form of the Spanish verb consistir, meaning to be made up of or to consist of. In practice, it appears in the past tense with the subject tú, as in questions like ¿En qué consististe? which asks what you did or what the situation consisted of.

Etymology and meaning: consistir comes from Latin consistĕre, a combination of con- (together) and sistere (to stand). In Spanish, the core meaning is to be composed of or to involve certain elements, ideas, or actions. The preterite form consististe specifically denotes a completed past instance of that idea, usually when the subject is tú.

Usage notes: The most common way to express “to consist of” in Spanish is with phrases like consistió de or consistió en, especially for third-person references. These forms describe what something was composed of or what it entailed in the past. The second-person preterite form consististe is grammatically correct but far less frequent in everyday speech; it is mainly found in narrative or direct address when referring to what you, personally, did or were involved in during a past event. A widely used related construction is “¿En qué consististe?” or “¿En qué consistió…?”

Conjugation (preterite indicative): yo consistí, tú consististe, él/ella/Ud. consistió, nosotros consistimos, vosotros consististeis, ellos/ellas/Uds. consistieron.

See also: consistir, consistencia, composition.

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