The preterite of quemar is used to express a specific instance of burning something in the past, for example Quemé la cena accidentalmente (I accidentally burned the dinner). This tense emphasizes the completed action of burning at a particular moment.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. It can be used both transitively and reflexively (quemarse).

Conjugations

Conjugations of Quemar (to burn) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of quemar expresses a completed action of burning or getting burned in the past.

To burn: Describes destroying or damaging by fire, for example Quemé los papeles viejos (I burned the old papers) or El sol me quemó la piel (The sun burned my skin).

To get burned: Used reflexively for receiving burns, for example Me quemé con el café caliente (I got burned with the hot coffee).

Examples

Examples of Quemar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Quemé accidentalmente la cena. (I accidentally burned dinner.)

Quemaste las hojas secas del jardín. (You burned the dry leaves from the garden.)

El sol quemó mi piel en la playa. (The sun burned my skin at the beach.)

Quemamos los documentos viejos. (We burned the old documents.)

Los bomberos quemaron el campo controladamente. (The firefighters did a controlled burn of the field.)

Quemé las cartas antiguas. (I burned the old letters.)

Quemaste el pan en el horno. (You burned the bread in the oven.)

El chef quemó el postre. (The chef burned the dessert.)

Quemamos leña en la chimenea. (We burned wood in the fireplace.)

Los niños quemaron las galletas. (The children burned the cookies.)

Quemé mi lengua con el café. (I burned my tongue with the coffee.)

Quemaste la ropa con la plancha. (You burned the clothes with the iron.)

El cocinero quemó el arroz. (The cook burned the rice.)

Quemamos basura en el patio. (We burned trash in the backyard.)

Los campistas quemaron madera para hacer fuego. (The campers burned wood to make a fire.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Quemar (to burn) 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.