The preterite of prever is used to express when someone foresaw or anticipated something at a specific moment in the past. For example, “Nobody foresaw the economic crisis” – “Nadie previó la crisis económica.”
This is an irregular verb in the preterite tense. It follows a pattern similar to ‘ver’ but with the prefix ‘pre-‘, maintaining the same irregularities throughout its conjugation.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Prever (to foresee) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | preví |
| Tú | previste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | previó |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | previmos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | previsteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | previeron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Prever (to foresee) in the Preterite (Past) Tense to help you learn faster.
Pro Tip: Play the audio on a loop as you study the chart. This repetition will solidify the correct conjugations in your memory.
Usage of Prever in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of prever expresses instances of foreseeing or anticipating.
To foresee (specific instance): Describes anticipating something that later happened, for example Preví los problemas (I foresaw the problems), or Previeron la crisis (They foresaw the crisis).
To anticipate/plan for: Used for planning ahead, for example Previmos todas las posibilidades (We anticipated all possibilities).
Examples
Examples of Prever in the Preterite (Past) Tense
Preví los problemas desde el principio. (I foresaw the problems from the beginning.)
El experto previó la crisis económica. (The expert foresaw the economic crisis.)
No previmos las consecuencias. (We didn’t foresee the consequences.)
Previste exactamente lo que iba a pasar. (You foresaw exactly what was going to happen.)
Los analistas previeron el cambio en el mercado. (The analysts foresaw the market change.)
Nadie previó el accidente. (Nobody foresaw the accident.)
Previmos la necesidad de más recursos. (We foresaw the need for more resources.)
¿Previste esta situación? (Did you foresee this situation?)
El meteorólogo previó la tormenta. (The meteorologist foresaw the storm.)
Previeron un aumento en la demanda. (They foresaw an increase in demand.)
Preví que necesitaríamos más tiempo. (I foresaw that we would need more time.)
La empresa previó cambios en el mercado. (The company foresaw changes in the market.)
No previste las dificultades. (You didn’t foresee the difficulties.)
Previeron la necesidad de más personal. (They foresaw the need for more staff.)
Previmos el éxito del proyecto. (We foresaw the project’s success.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Prever (to foresee) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo preví | I foresaw |
| Tú previste | You foresaw |
| Él / Ella / Usted previó | He / She / You (formal) foresaw |
| Nosotros / Nosotras previmos | We foresaw |
| Vosotros / Vosotras previsteis | You all foresaw |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes previeron | They / You all (formal) foresaw |
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.