The preterite of preocupar is used to express a specific instance of causing worry in the past, for example La noticia me preocupó mucho (The news worried me a lot). This tense emphasizes the completed action of becoming worried at a particular moment.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. It’s often used with indirect object pronouns to indicate who was worried.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Preocupar (to worry) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of preocupar describes a completed action of worrying or concerning in the past.

To worry/concern: Describes causing concern, for example Me preocupó su respuesta (Their response worried me) or Le preocupó la noticia (The news concerned him/her).

To be concerned about: Used for expressing worry about something specific, for example Se preocupó por su salud (He/she became worried about their health).

Examples

Examples of Preocupar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me preocupé por los resultados del examen. (I worried about the exam results.)

Te preocupaste demasiado por el proyecto. (You worried too much about the project.)

La madre se preocupó por su hijo enfermo. (The mother worried about her sick child.)

Nos preocupamos por la situación. (We worried about the situation.)

Los padres se preocuparon por la tardanza. (The parents worried about the delay.)

Me preocupé por tu salud. (I worried about your health.)

Te preocupaste sin razón. (You worried without reason.)

El jefe se preocupó por los plazos. (The boss worried about the deadlines.)

Nos preocupamos por el futuro. (We worried about the future.)

Los estudiantes se preocuparon por los exámenes. (The students worried about the exams.)

Me preocupé cuando no llamaste. (I worried when you didn’t call.)

Te preocupaste por el clima. (You worried about the weather.)

La empresa se preocupó por la crisis. (The company worried about the crisis.)

Nos preocupamos por los costos. (We worried about the costs.)

Los vecinos se preocuparon por el ruido. (The neighbors worried about the noise.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Preocupar (to worry) 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.