The preterite of calmarse is used to express a specific instance of calming down in the past, for example Me calmé después de respirar profundamente (I calmed down after breathing deeply). This reflexive verb emphasizes the completed action of becoming calm at a particular moment.

This is a regular -ar verb used reflexively, meaning you need to include the appropriate reflexive pronoun with each conjugation. The verb itself follows the standard preterite pattern for -ar verbs.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Calmarse (to calm down) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of calmarse describes a completed action of becoming calm in the past.

To calm down: Refers to becoming peaceful or tranquil, for example Me calmé después de respirar profundo (I calmed down after breathing deeply) or El bebé se calmó con la música (The baby calmed down with the music).

To settle down: Used for situations becoming less intense, for example La tormenta se calmó por la noche (The storm settled down at night).

Examples

Examples of Calmarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me calmé después de respirar profundo. (I calmed down after taking deep breaths.)

Te calmaste cuando te explicaron la situación. (You calmed down when they explained the situation.)

El bebé se calmó con la canción de cuna. (The baby calmed down with the lullaby.)

Nos calmamos después de la discusión. (We calmed down after the argument.)

Los manifestantes se calmaron al ver a la policía. (The protesters calmed down when they saw the police.)

Me calmé al escuchar las buenas noticias. (I calmed down when I heard the good news.)

Te calmaste tomando un té. (You calmed down by drinking tea.)

El perro se calmó con las caricias. (The dog calmed down with the petting.)

Nos calmamos al resolver el problema. (We calmed down after solving the problem.)

Los niños se calmaron después del recreo. (The children calmed down after recess.)

Me calmé practicando yoga. (I calmed down practicing yoga.)

Te calmaste al salir a caminar. (You calmed down by going for a walk.)

La tormenta se calmó al amanecer. (The storm calmed down at dawn.)

Nos calmamos escuchando música. (We calmed down listening to music.)

Los pasajeros se calmaron cuando aterrizó el avión. (The passengers calmed down when the plane landed.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Calmarse (to calm down) 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.