multiplicó

Multiplicó is the third-person singular form of the Spanish verb multiplicar in the pretérito perfecto simple, commonly called the preterite. It indicates that he, she, or you (formal) completed the act of multiplying in the past. It is used with numerical or mathematical contexts as well as in figurative expressions involving multiplication or multiplication-like increases.

In this form, the subject is él, ella, or usted. The verb multiplicar is regular in many of its tenses, but the first-person singular preterite form is multiplicqué, a spelling change from c to qu to preserve the hard c sound before e. The full preterite conjugation includes: yo multipliqué, tú multiplicaste, él multiplicó, nosotros multiplicamos, vosotros multiplicasteis, ellos multiplicaron.

Usage examples illustrate its meaning: “Ayer, él multiplicó tres por cuatro y obtuvo doce.” “El valor de la empresa se multiplicó por diez en un año.” In both cases, the action is viewed as completed in the past.

Etymology traces multiplicar to Latin multiplicare, from multi- “many” and plicare “to fold” or “to multiply,” reflecting the historical idea of increasing quantity. The form multiplicó is widely used across Spanish-speaking contexts and is a standard example of the pretérito for -ar verbs.

See also multiplicar, the infinitive and base form of the verb from which multiplicó derives.