The preterite of almorzar is used to express a specific instance of having lunch in the past. For example, you might say “I had lunch with my colleagues yesterday,” focusing on the completed action of eating lunch at a specific time.

This verb follows the pattern of stem-changing verbs in Spanish, changing from o to ue in some forms. However, in the preterite tense, the stem change only occurs in the third person singular and plural forms.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Almorzar (to have lunch) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The Preterite of almorzar describes a specific instance of having lunch.

To have lunch: Used for specific occasions of eating lunch, for example, Almorcé con mis colegas ayer (I had lunch with my colleagues yesterday).

To eat mid-day meal: Refers to the specific act of eating the main meal of the day, for example, Almorzamos en el nuevo restaurante (We had lunch at the new restaurant).

Examples

Examples of Almorzar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Ayer almorcé con mis colegas en un restaurante nuevo. (Yesterday I had lunch with my colleagues at a new restaurant.)

¿A qué hora almorzaste hoy? (What time did you have lunch today?)

Mi hermana almorzó temprano porque tenía una reunión. (My sister had lunch early because she had a meeting.)

Almorzamos en el jardín aprovechando el buen clima. (We had lunch in the garden taking advantage of the good weather.)

Los invitados almorzaron después de la ceremonia. (The guests had lunch after the ceremony.)

¿Dónde almorzaste durante tu viaje? (Where did you have lunch during your trip?)

El ejecutivo almorzó mientras revisaba los documentos. (The executive had lunch while reviewing the documents.)

Almorcé solo un sándwich porque estaba ocupado. (I only had a sandwich for lunch because I was busy.)

Los estudiantes almorzaron en la cafetería. (The students had lunch in the cafeteria.)

Almorzamos juntos por primera vez hace años. (We had lunch together for the first time years ago.)

¿Por qué no almorzaste nada hoy? (Why didn’t you have lunch today?)

El equipo almorzó después del entrenamiento. (The team had lunch after training.)

Almorcé tarde porque tuve mucho trabajo. (I had lunch late because I had a lot of work.)

Ellos almorzaron rápido antes de la presentación. (They had lunch quickly before the presentation.)

Almorzamos comida típica durante las vacaciones. (We had traditional food for lunch during vacation.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Almorzar (to have lunch) 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.