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Conjugation Chart of “Despedirse” (to say goodbye) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Despedirse”

The preterite of despedirse is used to express when someone said goodbye at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I said goodbye to my friends at the airport” – “Me despedí de mis amigos en el aeropuerto.”

This is an e to i stem-changing reflexive verb in the preterite tense. The stem change occurs in the third person singular and plural forms (despidió, despidieron), and you must include the appropriate reflexive pronoun.

How to Use Despedirse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of despedirse expresses specific instances of saying goodbye.

To say goodbye/farewell: Used for formal or significant farewells, for example Me despedí de mis padres en el aeropuerto (I said goodbye to my parents at the airport), or Se despidió del trabajo después de veinte años (They bid farewell to their job after twenty years).

To take leave: Indicates formally ending an interaction or position, for example Nos despedimos de la empresa (We took our leave from the company).

Real Life Examples of Despedirse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me despedí de mis amigos en el aeropuerto. (I said goodbye to my friends at the airport.)

Se despidió con un abrazo fuerte. (She said goodbye with a strong hug.)

Nos despedimos hasta el próximo verano. (We said goodbye until next summer.)

¿Te despediste de Juan? (Did you say goodbye to Juan?)

Se despidieron con lágrimas en los ojos. (They said goodbye with tears in their eyes.)

Me despedí del trabajo después de diez años. (I said goodbye to my job after ten years.)

¿Por qué no te despediste de nosotros? (Why didn’t you say goodbye to us?)

Se despidió de su tierra natal para siempre. (He bid farewell to his homeland forever.)

Nos despedimos rápidamente en la estación. (We said goodbye quickly at the station.)

Se despidieron antes de partir. (They said their goodbyes before leaving.)

Me despedí de mi infancia ese día. (I said goodbye to my childhood that day.)

Te despediste sin decir palabra. (You said goodbye without saying a word.)

Se despidió del verano con una última fiesta. (He bid farewell to summer with one last party.)

Nos despedimos con la promesa de volver. (We said goodbye with the promise to return.)

Se despidieron del profesor al final del curso. (They said goodbye to the teacher at the end of the course.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Despedirse (to say goodbye) in the Preterite (Past) 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.