nació

Nació is the third-person singular preterite form of the Spanish verb nacer, meaning to be born. It marks a birth event that was completed in the past and is used with él, ella, or usted. For example: "Juan nació en México." It is commonly found in biographies, historical accounts, and genealogical records to introduce or state the birthplace of a person.

Conjugation and form: In the preterite tense, nacer follows the regular -er verb endings: yo nací, tú naciste, él/ella/usted nació, nosotros nacimos, vosotros nacisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes nacieron. The verb is etymologically from Latin nasci, meaning to be born, and has cognates in other Romance languages.

Uses and nuances: Nació is used to describe a specific birth event. The imperfect tense nacía expresses a habitual or background situation in the past (for example, describing where someone was born as part of a longer narrative). The past participle is nacido, used in compound tenses and as an adjective, though it is less common to encounter nacido as a standalone descriptor of a person’s birth.

Context and related terms: Nació is often paired with places and dates, as in "Nació el 12 de abril de 1980 en Sevilla." Related verbs include nacer (to be born), nacido (born, past participle), and otros tenses that describe birth-related events in narrative or biographical writing.