pecamos

Pecamos is a verb form found in the Iberian languages Spanish and Portuguese. It represents the first-person plural conjugation of the verb pecar, meaning “to sin.” The form functions as both a present indicative form in these languages and, in some contexts, the simple past (preterite) form, with the exact tense determined by context.

In Spanish, pecamos most commonly appears as the present indicative for nosotros/nosotras (we sin). It can also serve as the first-person plural preterite form (we sinned), though in everyday speech the tense is usually indicated by surrounding time expressions, such as ayer (yesterday) to signal past action. The two tense values share the same orthography, which means context is needed to distinguish them.

In Portuguese, pecamos likewise means “we sin” in the present tense. The preterite form, pecámos, is written with an accent on the a to mark the past tense. As in Spanish, the intended meaning is derived from the surrounding temporal or contextual cues.

Etymology and cognates: pecar derives from Latin peccare, meaning to sin, with related forms in Spanish pecar and in Portuguese pecar. The word is primarily encountered as a grammatical form in ordinary language, religious texts, and liturgical contexts where confession and sin are discussed.

See also: pecar, peccability, confession.