The preterite of quitarse is used to express when something was taken off in the past. For example, you might say “I took off my coat when I entered the building,” indicating the specific moment of removing something.

This is a regular -ar reflexive verb, requiring the appropriate reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos) before each conjugated form. The verb itself follows regular -ar patterns.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Quitarse (to take off) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of quitarse expresses a completed action of taking off or removing in the past.

To take off: Describes removing clothing or accessories, for example Me quité los zapatos (I took off my shoes) or Se quitó el sombrero (He/she took off their hat).

To get out of the way: Used for moving oneself from a position, for example Me quité del camino (I got out of the way).

Examples

Examples of Quitarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me quité los zapatos al entrar a casa. (I took off my shoes when entering the house.)

Te quitaste el abrigo porque hacía calor. (You took off your coat because it was hot.)

Se quitó los lentes para limpiarlos. (He took off his glasses to clean them.)

Nos quitamos la ropa mojada después de la lluvia. (We took off our wet clothes after the rain.)

Se quitaron las máscaras al terminar la obra. (They took off their masks when the play ended.)

Me quité el maquillaje antes de dormir. (I took off my makeup before going to bed.)

Te quitaste el anillo para lavar los platos. (You took off your ring to wash the dishes.)

Se quitó la corbata después del trabajo. (He took off his tie after work.)

Nos quitamos los guantes para tocar el piano. (We took off our gloves to play the piano.)

Se quitaron las joyas antes de nadar. (They took off their jewelry before swimming.)

Me quité el sombrero por respeto. (I took off my hat out of respect.)

Te quitaste la venda cuando sanó la herida. (You took off the bandage when the wound healed.)

Se quitó el uniforme al llegar a casa. (She took off her uniform when she got home.)

Nos quitamos el barro de los zapatos. (We took the mud off our shoes.)

Se quitaron el sudor de la frente. (They wiped the sweat off their foreheads.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Quitarse (to take off) 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.