The preterite of merendar is used to express when someone had a snack at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I had a snack at 4 PM” – “Merendé a las cuatro de la tarde.”

This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. It’s commonly used to describe the typical Spanish afternoon snack time, la merienda.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Merendar (to have a snack) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of merendar refers to having a specific snack or afternoon meal.

To have a snack/afternoon meal: Describes eating between lunch and dinner, for example Merendé un sandwich (I had a sandwich for my afternoon snack).

To have tea/coffee break: Used for afternoon refreshments, for example Merendaron en el café (They had their afternoon snack at the café).

Examples

Examples of Merendar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Merendé un sándwich y una manzana. (I had a sandwich and an apple for a snack.)

¿Qué merendaste ayer? (What did you have for your afternoon snack yesterday?)

El niño merendó en casa de su abuela. (The child had his afternoon snack at his grandmother’s house.)

Merendamos en el parque. (We had our afternoon snack in the park.)

Los chicos merendaron después de la clase. (The kids had their afternoon snack after class.)

Merendé con mis compañeros de trabajo. (I had an afternoon snack with my coworkers.)

¿Merendaste algo antes del gimnasio? (Did you have a snack before the gym?)

Mi hermana merendó fruta y yogur. (My sister had fruit and yogurt for her afternoon snack.)

Merendamos juntos en la cafetería. (We had our afternoon snack together in the cafeteria.)

Los estudiantes merendaron durante el recreo. (The students had their snack during recess.)

No merendé porque no tenía hambre. (I didn’t have an afternoon snack because I wasn’t hungry.)

Merendaste muy tarde hoy. (You had your afternoon snack very late today.)

El equipo merendó antes del partido. (The team had a snack before the game.)

Merendamos galletas con leche. (We had cookies and milk for our afternoon snack.)

Merendaron en el jardín. (They had their afternoon snack in the garden.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Merendar (to have a snack) 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.