destruyó

Destruyó is the third-person singular form of the Spanish verb destruir in the pretérito indefinido (simple past). It is used to express a completed action in the past carried out by he, she, or the formal you (usted). Destruir means to destroy, ruin, demolish, or devastate something tangible or abstract. The form destruyó appears in sentences such as “La tormenta destruyó la casa” or “La evidencia destruyó su versión de los hechos.”

Etymology and meaning: destruir comes from Latin destruere, from de- (undo) + struere (to build, arrange). The verb retains a stem change in certain past forms typical of -uir verbs, which affects the third-person singular form destruyó.

Conjugation: In pretérito indefinido, destruyó is accompanied by the other principal past forms: destruí, destruiste, destruyó, destruimos, destruisteis, destruyeron. This pattern follows the regular -ir verb endings with the characteristic -uy- in the third-person plural and a stress pattern that marks the completed past action.

Usage notes: destruyó is common in narrative descriptions of events, news reports, and historical accounts. It can be literal (destroying physical objects) or metaphorical (destroying plans, reputations, or evidence). Like other -uir verbs, its spelling and accent marks follow standard Spanish orthography to indicate stress on the appropriate syllable.

See also: destruir, pretérito indefinido, Spanish verb conjugation patterns for -uir verbs.