The preterite of quejar is used to express when someone complained at a specific moment in the past. For example, “He complained about the service yesterday” – “Se quejó del servicio ayer.”

This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. It’s almost always used as a reflexive verb (quejarse) when expressing complaints.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Quejar (to complain) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of quejar indicates specific instances of complaining.

To complain: Used reflexively for expressing dissatisfaction, for example Me quejé al gerente (I complained to the manager), or Se quejaron del servicio (They complained about the service).

To express pain: Can refer to expressing physical discomfort, for example Se quejó de dolor toda la noche (He complained of pain all night).

Examples

Examples of Quejar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me quejé del servicio en el restaurante. (I complained about the service at the restaurant.)

¿Te quejaste con el gerente? (Did you complain to the manager?)

Se quejó del ruido. (He/she complained about the noise.)

Nos quejamos por la demora. (We complained about the delay.)

Los vecinos se quejaron de la música. (The neighbors complained about the music.)

Me quejé del dolor de espalda. (I complained about my back pain.)

¿Por qué te quejaste de mí? (Why did you complain about me?)

Se quejó de la calidad. (He/she complained about the quality.)

Nos quejamos del precio. (We complained about the price.)

Los estudiantes se quejaron del examen. (The students complained about the exam.)

Me quejé con la aerolínea. (I complained to the airline.)

¿Te quejaste del frío? (Did you complain about the cold?)

Se quejó del mal trato. (He/she complained about the poor treatment.)

Nos quejamos de las condiciones. (We complained about the conditions.)

Todos se quejaron de la decisión. (Everyone complained about the decision.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Quejar (to complain) 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.