esperar preterite conjugation
Esperar (to wait, to hope) in the preterite: esperé, esperaste, esperó, esperamos, esperasteis, esperaron.
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.
Esperar 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
Esperar in a sentence
- Espero el autobús cada día.I wait for the bus every day.
- Esperaba que vinieras.I was hoping you would come.
Regular -ar verb; means both 'to wait for' and 'to hope'.
FAQ
What is the preterite of esperar?
Esperar in the Spanish preterite: yo esperé, tú esperaste, él/ella/usted esperó, nosotros esperamos, vosotros esperasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes esperaron.
Is esperar irregular in the preterite?
No. In the preterite esperar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so esperé 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 esperar conjugation, all tenses →
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