The preterite of abrir is used to express when you opened something at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I opened the window this morning” – “Abrí la ventana esta mañana.”
This is a regular -ir verb that follows standard preterite conjugation patterns. The stem ‘abr-‘ remains constant throughout all conjugations.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Abrir (to open) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | abrí |
| Tú | abriste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | abrió |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | abrimos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | abristeis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | abrieron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Abrir (to open) 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 Abrir in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of abrir describes completed actions of opening.
To open: Indicates the act of opening something, for example Abrí la puerta (I opened the door), or Abrieron una nueva tienda (They opened a new store).
To inaugurate: Used for launching or starting something new, for example Abrió el evento con un discurso (She opened the event with a speech).
Examples
Examples of Abrir in the Preterite (Past) Tense
Abrí la puerta con la llave nueva. (I opened the door with the new key.)
¿Quién abrió la ventana? (Who opened the window?)
Los niños abrieron todos los regalos. (The children opened all the presents.)
Abrimos un nuevo negocio. (We opened a new business.)
¿A qué hora abriste la tienda? (What time did you open the store?)
El museo abrió sus puertas al público. (The museum opened its doors to the public.)
Abrieron una nueva sucursal en el centro. (They opened a new branch downtown.)
Abrí los ojos y ya era de día. (I opened my eyes and it was already daylight.)
¿Por qué abriste mi correo? (Why did you open my mail?)
El presidente abrió la ceremonia. (The president opened the ceremony.)
Abrimos las ventanas para ventilar. (We opened the windows to ventilate.)
Los estudiantes abrieron sus libros. (The students opened their books.)
Abrió una cuenta bancaria ayer. (He/she opened a bank account yesterday.)
Abrimos el regalo con emoción. (We opened the gift with excitement.)
Por fin abrieron el nuevo restaurante. (They finally opened the new restaurant.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Abrir (to open) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo abrí | I opened |
| Tú abriste | You opened |
| Él / Ella / Usted abrió | He / She / You (formal) opened |
| Nosotros / Nosotras abrimos | We opened |
| Vosotros / Vosotras abristeis | You all opened |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes abrieron | They / You all (formal) opened |
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.