preguntar preterite conjugation
Preguntar (to ask (a question)) in the preterite: pregunté, preguntaste, preguntó, preguntamos, preguntasteis, preguntaron.
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.
Preguntar 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
Preguntar in a sentence
- Pregunto por el camino.I ask for directions.
- Le pregunté su nombre.I asked him/her their name.
Use 'preguntar por' to ask about someone/something; don't confuse with 'pedir'.
FAQ
What is the preterite of preguntar?
Preguntar in the Spanish preterite: yo pregunté, tú preguntaste, él/ella/usted preguntó, nosotros preguntamos, vosotros preguntasteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes preguntaron.
Is preguntar irregular in the preterite?
No. In the preterite preguntar takes the regular endings for its verb class, so pregunté 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 preguntar conjugation, all tenses →
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