The preterite of saludar is used to express a specific instance of greeting someone in the past. For example, you might say “I greeted my neighbor this morning,” indicating a single, completed action of greeting.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. The endings are added to the stem ‘salud-‘ without any modifications.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Saludar (to greet) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of saludar indicates a completed action of greeting in the past.

To greet: Describes the act of saying hello or acknowledging someone, for example Saludé a mis vecinos esta mañana (I greeted my neighbors this morning) or Me saludó con un abrazo (He/she greeted me with a hug).

To wave to: Used for greeting from a distance, for example Lo saludé desde lejos (I waved to him from afar).

Examples

Examples of Saludar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Ayer saludé a mis vecinos en el parque. (Yesterday I greeted my neighbors at the park.)

La secretaria saludó a todos los clientes con una sonrisa. (The secretary greeted all the clients with a smile.)

¿Por qué no me saludaste esta mañana? (Why didn’t you greet me this morning?)

Los estudiantes saludaron al profesor cuando entró al aula. (The students greeted the professor when he entered the classroom.)

Saludamos a nuestros antiguos compañeros en la reunión. (We greeted our former colleagues at the meeting.)

El presidente saludó a la multitud desde el balcón. (The president greeted the crowd from the balcony.)

Cuando llegué a la fiesta, saludé a todos los invitados. (When I arrived at the party, I greeted all the guests.)

Los niños saludaron al payaso con mucho entusiasmo. (The children greeted the clown with great enthusiasm.)

No me di cuenta y no lo saludé cuando pasó. (I didn’t notice and didn’t greet him when he passed by.)

Ella saludó a su ex novio como si nada hubiera pasado. (She greeted her ex-boyfriend as if nothing had happened.)

Saludamos a la nueva gerente en su primer día. (We greeted the new manager on her first day.)

Los jugadores saludaron al público después del partido. (The players greeted the audience after the game.)

¿Por qué no me saludaste en el supermercado? (Why didn’t you greet me at the supermarket?)

El bebé saludó con la manita a todos en el bus. (The baby greeted everyone on the bus with their little hand.)

Los turistas saludaron al guía antes del recorrido. (The tourists greeted the guide before the tour.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Saludar (to greet) 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.