contrajo

Contrajo is the first‑person singular preterite form of the Spanish verb contraer, which means “to contract,” “to catch (a disease),” or “to shrink.” As a conjugated verb, it functions as a finite verb that expresses a completed action in the past, specifically indicating that the speaker performed the act of contracting something. In morphological terms, contrajo is built from the verb stem contra‑, the preterite suffix ‑í, and a phonological adjustment that changes the final –er of the infinitive to –o, following regular patterns of Spanish conjugation for verbs ending in –er.

The verb contraer belongs to the second conjugation group (‑er verbs) and follows the same preterite paradigm as verbs such as beber (bebí) and comprender (comprendí). Consequently, contrajo is used in a variety of contexts, ranging from medical descriptions (“Contraje gripe en el invierno”) to figurative uses (“Contrajo una obligación con la empresa”). The form can also appear in subordinate clauses and passive constructions when paired with auxiliary verbs, e.g., “Yo contraje la enfermedad después de viajar.”

Etymologically, contraer derives from Latin contraere, a compound of contra (“against”) and ere (“to draw, pull”), originally meaning “to draw together opposite parts.” Over time, the meaning extended to denote the act of becoming smaller, of acquiring illness, or of entering into agreements. In contemporary Spanish, contrajo is a standard and fully regular preterite form, recognized in dictionaries and linguistic corpora.