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Conjugation Chart of “Quemar” (to burn) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Quemar”

The preterite of quemar is used to express when something burned or when someone burned something at a specific moment. For example, “I accidentally burned the toast this morning” – “Quemé el pan tostado esta mañana.”

This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. It can be used both transitively and reflexively (quemarse).

How to Use Quemar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of quemar expresses completed actions of burning.

To burn: Describes destroying or damaging by fire, for example Quemé las cartas viejas (I burned the old letters), or El sol me quemó la piel (The sun burned my skin).

To waste/ruin: In colloquial usage, can mean to waste or spoil something, for example Quemó todas sus oportunidades (They burned all their chances).

Real Life Examples of Quemar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

El sol me quemó la piel en la playa. (The sun burned my skin at the beach.)

Quemé accidentalmente la cena. (I accidentally burned dinner.)

Los documentos se quemaron en el incendio. (The documents burned in the fire.)

¿Por qué quemaste las cartas viejas? (Why did you burn the old letters?)

Quemamos las hojas secas del jardín. (We burned the dry leaves from the garden.)

El café me quemó la lengua. (The coffee burned my tongue.)

Los manifestantes quemaron las banderas en protesta. (The protesters burned the flags in protest.)

Se me quemó el pan en el tostador. (The bread got burned in the toaster.)

Quemaste demasiadas calorías en el gimnasio. (You burned too many calories at the gym.)

La vela se quemó toda la noche. (The candle burned all night.)

Quemamos el papel después de leerlo. (We burned the paper after reading it.)

El fuego quemó varios acres de bosque. (The fire burned several acres of forest.)

Se quemaron los fusibles durante la tormenta. (The fuses burned out during the storm.)

Quemé el disco en el ordenador. (I burned the disc on the computer.)

El sol quemó toda la cosecha. (The sun burned the entire harvest.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Quemar (to burn) in the Preterite (Past) 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.