The preterite of lavar is used to express when someone washed something at a specific moment in the past. For example, “I washed the car yesterday” – “Lavé el coche ayer.”

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Lavar (to wash) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of lavar expresses completed actions of washing or cleaning.

To wash/clean: Describes a completed cleaning action, for example Lavé toda la ropa ayer (I washed all the clothes yesterday), or Lavaron el carro el domingo (They washed the car on Sunday).

To cleanse/purify: In figurative usage, indicates purification or clearing of something, for example Se lavó las manos del asunto (They washed their hands of the matter).

Examples

Examples of Lavar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Lavé los platos después de la cena. (I washed the dishes after dinner.)

¿Lavaste la ropa nueva? (Did you wash the new clothes?)

Mi hermana lavó el auto ayer. (My sister washed the car yesterday.)

Lavamos las ventanas el fin de semana. (We washed the windows over the weekend.)

Los niños lavaron sus manos antes de comer. (The children washed their hands before eating.)

Me lavé el pelo esta mañana. (I washed my hair this morning.)

¿Te lavaste los dientes? (Did you brush your teeth?)

El chef lavó todos los vegetales. (The chef washed all the vegetables.)

Lavamos el mantel después de la fiesta. (We washed the tablecloth after the party.)

Se lavaron la cara con agua fría. (They washed their faces with cold water.)

Lavé la alfombra después del accidente. (I washed the carpet after the accident.)

Lavaste el uniforme para el partido. (You washed the uniform for the game.)

La lluvia lavó las calles de la ciudad. (The rain washed the city streets.)

Lavamos las cortinas en primavera. (We washed the curtains in spring.)

Los empleados lavaron los pisos del restaurante. (The employees washed the restaurant floors.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Lavar (to wash) 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.