The preterite of comprender is used to express when you understood something at a specific moment in the past. For example, “I finally understood the concept yesterday” – “Por fin comprendí el concepto ayer.”

This is a regular -er verb in the preterite tense. It follows the standard conjugation pattern for -er verbs without any variations.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Comprender (to understand) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of comprender expresses moments of understanding or comprehension.

To understand (moment of realization): Used for instances of comprehension, for example Comprendí el problema finalmente (I finally understood the problem), or Comprendieron la situación (They understood the situation).

To grasp/realize: Indicates moment of understanding, for example Comprendió su error (He realized his mistake).

Examples

Examples of Comprender in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Por fin comprendí el concepto matemático. (I finally understood the mathematical concept.)

Comprendiste la situación perfectamente. (You understood the situation perfectly.)

Nadie comprendió las razones de su decisión. (Nobody understood the reasons for their decision.)

Comprendimos el mensaje demasiado tarde. (We understood the message too late.)

Los estudiantes comprendieron la lección rápidamente. (The students understood the lesson quickly.)

Cuando comprendí mi error, me disculpé. (When I understood my mistake, I apologized.)

¿Comprendiste las instrucciones? (Did you understand the instructions?)

Ella comprendió la importancia del momento. (She understood the importance of the moment.)

Comprendimos la gravedad de la situación. (We understood the gravity of the situation.)

Todos comprendieron la necesidad del cambio. (Everyone understood the need for change.)

No comprendí por qué lo hiciste. (I didn’t understand why you did it.)

Comprendiste el tema mejor que nadie. (You understood the topic better than anyone.)

Él comprendió el chiste después de un rato. (He understood the joke after a while.)

Comprendimos sus motivos eventualmente. (We eventually understood his reasons.)

Los expertos comprendieron el problema de inmediato. (The experts understood the problem immediately.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Comprender (to understand) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American Spanish, click here

Synonyms

The Preterite tense is also known as the Simple Past, Past Simple, Definite Past, Absolute Past, or Past Tense Indicative in English, and as Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Simple, Pasado Simple, or Pretérito de Indicativo in Spanish.