leíste

Leíste is the second-person singular preterite (pretérito indefinido) form of the Spanish verb leer, meaning “you read” in a past narrative. It denotes a completed action of reading and is used when the subject is the informal pronoun tú, though the verb ending often suffices to indicate the subject.

Morphology and orthography: Leíste is formed from the stem le- plus the preterite ending -íste for the second person singular. It carries a written accent on the í to indicate the correct stressed syllable: leíste. In the broader conjugation of leer, other forms include leí (I read), leísteis (you all read in Spain), leyó (he/she/you formal read), and leyeron (they read), with some changes in the third-person forms.

Usage: Leíste is commonly used in informal past narration or dialogue to ask or state what someone read. The subject Tú is typically implied by the verb ending, but can be made explicit for emphasis: “Tú leíste el informe.” Examples: “¿Qué leíste ayer?” “Leí un artículo sobre historia.” It is distinct from the present or imperfect tenses (lees, leías) and from the formal usted form (usted leyó).

Variation and related forms: The related forms in the same tense include leí y leíste, según la persona. The verb leer also forms irregular third-person preterite forms (leyó, leyeron) due to a y-orthography change, but tú form leíste follows a regular pattern aside from the accent. Etymologically, leer derives from Latin legere.