The preterite of cerrar is used to express when something was closed at a specific moment in the past. For example, “The store closed at 9 PM yesterday” – “La tienda cerró a las 9 ayer.”
This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. Despite being a stem-changing verb in the present tense, it follows regular patterns in the preterite.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Cerrar (to close) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | cerré |
| Tú | cerraste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | cerró |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | cerramos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | cerrasteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | cerraron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Cerrar (to close) in the Preterite (Past) Tense to help you learn faster.
Pro Tip: Play the audio on a loop as you study the chart. This repetition will solidify the correct conjugations in your memory.
Usage of Cerrar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of cerrar indicates completed actions of closing.
To close: Used for closing physical objects, for example Cerré la puerta (I closed the door), or Cerraron la tienda temprano (They closed the store early).
To shut down/conclude: Refers to ending operations or activities, for example Cerramos el negocio en diciembre (We closed the business in December).
Examples
Examples of Cerrar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
Cerré la puerta con llave antes de salir. (I locked the door before leaving.)
¿Por qué cerraste todas las ventanas? (Why did you close all the windows?)
El banco cerró temprano ese día. (The bank closed early that day.)
Cerramos el negocio por vacaciones. (We closed the business for vacation.)
Las tiendas cerraron debido al mal tiempo. (The stores closed due to bad weather.)
Cerré mi cuenta bancaria ayer. (I closed my bank account yesterday.)
¿A qué hora cerraste la oficina? (What time did you close the office?)
Ella cerró el libro de golpe. (She slammed the book shut.)
Cerramos el trato con un apretón de manos. (We closed the deal with a handshake.)
Los restaurantes cerraron a medianoche. (The restaurants closed at midnight.)
Cerré los ojos y me quedé dormido. (I closed my eyes and fell asleep.)
¿Quién cerró la ventana? (Who closed the window?)
Cerraron el parque por mantenimiento. (They closed the park for maintenance.)
Cerramos la reunión con un resumen. (We closed the meeting with a summary.)
La empresa cerró sus operaciones en diciembre. (The company closed its operations in December.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Cerrar (to close) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo cerré | I closed |
| Tú cerraste | You closed |
| Él / Ella / Usted cerró | He / She / You (formal) closed |
| Nosotros / Nosotras cerramos | We closed |
| Vosotros / Vosotras cerrasteis | You all closed |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes cerraron | They / You all (formal) closed |
This post covers Castilian Spanish. For Latin American 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.