Calmarse Preterite (Past) Tense in Castilian Spanish

The preterite of calmarse is used to express when someone calmed down at a specific moment in the past. For example, “He calmed down after taking a deep breath” – “Se calmó después de respirar profundamente.”

This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense, with reflexive pronouns added. Remember to match the reflexive pronoun to the subject of the verb.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Calmarse (to calm down) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

Pronoun Conjugation
Yome calmé
te calmaste
Él / Ella / Ustedse calmó
Nosotros / Nosotrasnos calmamos
Vosotros / Vosotrasos calmasteis
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedesse calmaron

Boost Your Memorization with Audio!

We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Calmarse (to calm down) 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 Calmarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of calmarse expresses completed actions of calming down.

To calm down: Used for specific instances of becoming calm, for example Me calmé después de respirar profundo (I calmed down after breathing deeply).

To settle down/quiet down: Describes when agitation ended, for example El bebé se calmó al oír música (The baby calmed down upon hearing music).

Examples

Examples of Calmarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me calmé después de respirar profundo. (I calmed down after breathing deeply.)

Te calmaste cuando escuchaste la explicación. (You calmed down when you heard the explanation.)

El bebé se calmó con la canción de cuna. (The baby calmed down with the lullaby.)

Nos calmamos después de la discusión. (We calmed down after the argument.)

Se calmaron cuando llegó la policía. (They calmed down when the police arrived.)

La tormenta se calmó al amanecer. (The storm calmed down at dawn.)

Te calmaste muy rápido. (You calmed down very quickly.)

El perro se calmó con las caricias. (The dog calmed down with the petting.)

Nos calmamos tomando té. (We calmed down by drinking tea.)

Los manifestantes se calmaron gradualmente. (The protesters gradually calmed down.)

Me calmé cuando supe la verdad. (I calmed down when I knew the truth.)

El mar se calmó por la tarde. (The sea calmed down in the afternoon.)

Te calmaste después de la pesadilla. (You calmed down after the nightmare.)

Se calmaron al escuchar las noticias. (They calmed down upon hearing the news.)

El fuego se calmó con la lluvia. (The fire calmed down with the rain.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Calmarse (to calm down) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

Spanish English
Yo me calmé I calmed down
Tú te calmaste You calmed down
Él / Ella / Usted se calmó He / She / You (formal) calmed down
Nosotros / Nosotras nos calmamos We calmed down
Vosotros / Vosotras os calmasteis You all calmed down
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes se calmaron They / You all (formal) calmed down

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.