The preterite of aparecer is used to express a specific instance of appearing or showing up in the past, for example El gato apareció en el jardín (The cat appeared in the garden). This tense emphasizes the completed action of appearing at a particular moment.

This is a regular -er verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. Note that while similar to other -cer verbs, aparecer maintains its regular conjugation in the preterite tense.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Aparecer (to appear) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of aparecer describes a completed action of appearing or showing up in the past.

To appear/show up: Describes becoming visible or present, for example Apareció de repente (He/she appeared suddenly) or El sol apareció entre las nubes (The sun appeared between the clouds).

To turn up: Used for something being found, for example Las llaves aparecieron en el jardín (The keys turned up in the garden).

To emerge/come out: Describes coming into view, for example Apareció un nuevo problema (A new problem emerged).

Examples

Examples of Aparecer in the Preterite (Past) Tense

El sol apareció detrás de las nubes. (The sun appeared behind the clouds.)

Aparecí en la fiesta sin avisar. (I appeared at the party without warning.)

Apareciste justo cuando te necesitaba. (You appeared right when I needed you.)

La respuesta apareció en la última página. (The answer appeared on the last page.)

Aparecimos temprano en la reunión. (We appeared early at the meeting.)

Las estrellas aparecieron en el cielo nocturno. (The stars appeared in the night sky.)

Un arcoíris apareció después de la lluvia. (A rainbow appeared after the rain.)

Aparecí en las noticias locales. (I appeared in the local news.)

Apareciste en mis sueños anoche. (You appeared in my dreams last night.)

La luna llena apareció entre las montañas. (The full moon appeared between the mountains.)

Aparecimos en la foto grupal. (We appeared in the group photo.)

Los resultados aparecieron en la pantalla. (The results appeared on the screen.)

Un oasis apareció en el desierto. (An oasis appeared in the desert.)

Apareciste de la nada. (You appeared out of nowhere.)

Las primeras flores aparecieron en primavera. (The first flowers appeared in spring.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Aparecer (to appear) 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.