The preterite of escoger is used to express a specific instance of choosing something in the past, for example Escogí el vestido azul para la fiesta (I chose the blue dress for the party). This tense emphasizes the completed action of selection at a particular moment.

This is a regular -er verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. The ‘g’ maintains its soft sound before ‘i’ and ‘e’ throughout the conjugation.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Escoger (to choose) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of escoger describes a completed action of choosing or selecting in the past.

To choose/select: Describes making a selection, for example Escogí el vestido azul (I chose the blue dress) or Escogieron un buen momento para la reunión (They selected a good time for the meeting).

To pick out: Used for careful selection, for example Escogió las mejores frutas del mercado (He/she picked out the best fruits from the market).

Examples

Examples of Escoger in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Escogí el vestido rojo para la fiesta. (I chose the red dress for the party.)

Escogiste el mejor momento para la reunión. (You chose the best time for the meeting.)

El chef escogió los ingredientes más frescos. (The chef chose the freshest ingredients.)

Escogimos el restaurante para celebrar. (We chose the restaurant to celebrate.)

Los jueces escogieron al ganador del concurso. (The judges chose the contest winner.)

Escogí estudiar medicina. (I chose to study medicine.)

Escogiste el camino más difícil. (You chose the hardest path.)

La empresa escogió el mejor candidato. (The company chose the best candidate.)

Escogimos el color para pintar la casa. (We chose the color to paint the house.)

Los estudiantes escogieron sus materias optativas. (The students chose their elective subjects.)

Escogí el regalo perfecto. (I chose the perfect gift.)

Escogiste un buen momento para hablar. (You chose a good time to talk.)

El artista escogió los mejores materiales. (The artist chose the best materials.)

Escogimos el destino para las vacaciones. (We chose the vacation destination.)

Los arquitectos escogieron el diseño final. (The architects chose the final design.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Escoger (to choose) 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.