declaRASte

Declaraste is the second person singular preterite (past) indicative form of the Spanish verb declarar, meaning you declared or you stated. It is used to describe a completed act of declaring something in the past and is commonly found when the subject is tú (you).

Etymology and form: Declarar traces its origins to the Latin declarare. In the preterite tense, declararse follows the regular -ar verb pattern: declaré, declaraste, declaró, declaramos, declarasteis, declararon. The word declaraste is unstressed in writing, following standard Spanish orthography, and is pronounced de-cla-RAS-te.

Usage and nuance: Declaraste is typically used in contexts where a person asserts or testifies about a past statement or decision. It appears in narratives, legal or formal records, journalism, and everyday speech when reporting what someone said or declared. Although it often overlaps with decir (to say), declarar emphasizes the act of making a declaration or formal statement rather than a simple utterance.

Examples:

- Ayer declaraste tu intención de renunciar.

- En el juicio, declaraste que no sabías nada sobre el incidente.

See also: Related forms include declarar (the infinitive), declaré (I declared), y otros tiempos y modos como declarara o declare. Declararte, una forma reflexiva, es menos común y cambia el significado a una acción declarativa realizada por una persona hacia sí misma en ciertos contextos.