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Conjugation Chart of “Parar” (to stop) in the Preterite (Past) Tense
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | paré |
| Tú | paraste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | paró |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | paramos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | parasteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | pararon |
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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Parar”
The preterite of parar is used to express when something or someone stopped at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “The rain stopped at midnight” – “La lluvia paró a medianoche.”
This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. The endings follow the standard -ar verb pattern: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -aron.
How to Use Parar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of parar indicates completed instances of stopping.
To stop (complete action): Used for specific instances of stopping, for example Paré el carro en la luz roja (I stopped the car at the red light), or Pararon de trabajar a las cinco (They stopped working at five).
To end/cease: Indicates when something ended, for example La lluvia paró de repente (The rain stopped suddenly).
Real Life Examples of Parar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
Paré el carro en el semáforo. (I stopped the car at the traffic light.)
No pararon de hablar durante la película. (They didn’t stop talking during the movie.)
¿Por qué paraste tan repentinamente? (Why did you stop so suddenly?)
La lluvia paró al anochecer. (The rain stopped at nightfall.)
Paramos a descansar en el camino. (We stopped to rest along the way.)
El reloj se paró a medianoche. (The clock stopped at midnight.)
Paraste el proyecto demasiado pronto. (You stopped the project too soon.)
La música paró de repente. (The music stopped suddenly.)
Paramos la discusión antes de que empeorara. (We stopped the discussion before it got worse.)
Los trabajadores pararon la construcción. (The workers stopped the construction.)
Paré de fumar hace un año. (I stopped smoking a year ago.)
¿Dónde paraste para almorzar? (Where did you stop for lunch?)
El autobús paró en todas las estaciones. (The bus stopped at all stations.)
Paramos el coche para tomar fotos. (We stopped the car to take pictures.)
La fábrica paró su producción. (The factory stopped its production.)
Conjugation Chart with English Translations
Conjugations of Parar (to stop) in the Preterite (Past) Tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo paré | I stopped |
| Tú paraste | You stopped |
| Él / Ella / Usted paró | He / She / You (formal) stopped |
| Nosotros / Nosotras paramos | We stopped |
| Vosotros / Vosotras parasteis | You all stopped |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes pararon | They / You all (formal) stopped |
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.