The preterite of coger is used to express a completed action of taking or catching something in the past. For example, you might say “I took the bus to work this morning,” indicating a specific instance of using transportation.

This is a regular -er verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. The conjugations are straightforward and predictable, making it easy to use in conversation.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Coger (to take/catch) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of coger expresses a completed action of taking or catching in the past.

To take/catch: Describes grabbing or catching something, for example Cogí el autobús a tiempo (I caught the bus on time) or Cogió las llaves de la mesa (He/she took the keys from the table).

To pick up: Used for collecting or picking something up, for example Cogí el paquete de la oficina de correos (I picked up the package from the post office).

Examples

Examples of Coger in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Cogí el autobús a tiempo. (I caught the bus on time.)

Cogió las llaves de la mesa. (He took the keys from the table.)

¿Cogiste todos tus documentos? (Did you take all your documents?)

Cogimos un taxi al aeropuerto. (We took a taxi to the airport.)

Los estudiantes cogieron apuntes durante la clase. (The students took notes during class.)

Cogí un resfriado la semana pasada. (I caught a cold last week.)

El gato cogió al ratón. (The cat caught the mouse.)

Cogimos el último tren de la noche. (We caught the last train of the night.)

¿Por qué no cogiste mi llamada? (Why didn’t you take my call?)

Los niños cogieron flores en el campo. (The children picked flowers in the field.)

Cogí el paquete de la oficina de correos. (I picked up the package from the post office.)

Mi hermana cogió el trabajo en la ciudad. (My sister took the job in the city.)

Cogimos muchas fotos durante el viaje. (We took many photos during the trip.)

El equipo cogió impulso en el segundo tiempo. (The team gained momentum in the second half.)

Los turistas cogieron el teleférico a la montaña. (The tourists took the cable car to the mountain.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Coger (to take/catch) 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.