The preterite of saludar is used to express when you greeted someone at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I greeted my teacher this morning” – “Saludé a mi profesor esta mañana.”

This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. It’s a straightforward verb that maintains its stem throughout all conjugations.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Saludar (to greet) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of saludar indicates completed acts of greeting.

To greet: Used for specific instances of greeting someone, for example Saludé a mis vecinos esta mañana (I greeted my neighbors this morning), or Me saludó con un abrazo (She greeted me with a hug).

To acknowledge: Refers to acknowledging someone’s presence, for example Saludaron a la audiencia (They acknowledged the audience).

Examples

Examples of Saludar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Saludé a mis vecinos esta mañana. (I greeted my neighbors this morning.)

El presidente saludó a la multitud. (The president greeted the crowd.)

¿Saludaste a tu profesor cuando lo viste? (Did you greet your teacher when you saw him?)

Saludamos a los invitados en la entrada. (We greeted the guests at the entrance.)

Los niños saludaron a la bandera. (The children saluted the flag.)

María me saludó desde lejos. (Maria greeted me from afar.)

Saludaste muy amablemente a mis padres. (You greeted my parents very kindly.)

Los jugadores saludaron al público después del partido. (The players greeted the audience after the game.)

Saludé a todos antes de irme. (I said hello to everyone before leaving.)

El artista saludó a sus fans después del concierto. (The artist greeted his fans after the concert.)

Saludamos el año nuevo con alegría. (We welcomed the new year with joy.)

¿Por qué no me saludaste en la fiesta? (Why didn’t you greet me at the party?)

Los diplomáticos se saludaron cordialmente. (The diplomats greeted each other cordially.)

Saludé a mi amigo con un abrazo. (I greeted my friend with a hug.)

Ella me saludó con una sonrisa. (She greeted me with a smile.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Saludar (to greet) 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.