The preterite of quedarse is used to express a completed action of staying somewhere in the past. For example, you might say “I stayed at my friend’s house last night,” indicating a specific instance of remaining in a place.

This is a regular -ar reflexive verb. While it follows regular conjugation patterns, you must also use the appropriate reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before each conjugated form.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Quedarse (to stay) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of quedarse describes a completed action of staying or remaining. Remaining in a Place: Indicates when someone stayed somewhere for a defined period, for example, me quedé en casa todo el día (I stayed at home all day). Ending Up: Describes the final state of something, for example, se quedó sin dinero (he/she ended up without money). Keeping Something: Used when someone retained or kept something, for example, te quedaste con mi libro (you kept my book).

Examples

Examples of Quedarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me quedé en casa todo el día. (I stayed at home all day.)

¿Te quedaste hasta el final de la fiesta? (Did you stay until the end of the party?)

El perro se quedó esperando a su dueño. (The dog stayed waiting for its owner.)

Nos quedamos sin gasolina en la carretera. (We ran out of gas on the highway.)

Los estudiantes se quedaron después de clase. (The students stayed after class.)

Me quedé dormido durante la película. (I fell asleep during the movie.)

¿Por qué te quedaste callado? (Why did you stay quiet?)

Mi hermana se quedó a dormir en casa de una amiga. (My sister stayed overnight at a friend’s house.)

Nos quedamos sorprendidos por la noticia. (We were surprised by the news.)

Los niños se quedaron jugando en el parque. (The children stayed playing in the park.)

Me quedé sin palabras. (I was speechless.)

¿Te quedaste con hambre? (Did you stay hungry?)

El gato se quedó dormido en el sofá. (The cat fell asleep on the couch.)

Nos quedamos hasta tarde trabajando. (We stayed late working.)

Los invitados se quedaron a cenar. (The guests stayed for dinner.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Quedarse (to stay) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish) with English Translations:

This post covers Latin American Spanish. For Castilian 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.