comprar preterite conjugation
Comprar (to buy) in the preterite: compré, compraste, compró, compramos, comprasteis, compraron.
Pretérito indefinido Preterite
| yo | |
|---|---|
| tú | |
| él/ella/usted | |
| nosotros | |
| vosotros | |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes |
ending regular · irr breaks the pattern · tap a form to hear it
When to use the preterite
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is the past tense for completed actions with a clear start or end: “Ayer hice la cena.” For background, habits and ongoing states in the past, Spanish uses the imperfect instead.
How it is formed
Regular endings: -ar → é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron; -er/-ir → í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron. Many common verbs use an irregular stem (hic-, tuv-, estuv-, pud-, quis-, dij-) with unstressed endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Comprar is regular here, so it is a good model for other verbs of the same class.
Read more: Preterite vs imperfect: when to use each
Comprar in a sentence
- Compro pan cada mañana.I buy bread every morning.
- Compré un regalo para ella.I bought a gift for her.
Regular -ar verb; often used with 'en' for the store location.
FAQ
What is the preterite of comprar?
Comprar in the Spanish preterite: yo compré, tú compraste, él/ella/usted compró, nosotros compramos, vosotros comprasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes compraron.
Is comprar irregular in the preterite?
No. In the preterite comprar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so compré follows the same pattern as any regular verb.
When do you use the Spanish preterite?
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is the past tense for completed actions with a clear start or end: “Ayer hice la cena.” For background, habits and ongoing states in the past, Spanish uses the imperfect instead.
How is the preterite formed?
Regular endings: -ar → é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron; -er/-ir → í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron. Many common verbs use an irregular stem (hic-, tuv-, estuv-, pud-, quis-, dij-) with unstressed endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Full comprar conjugation, all tenses →
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