The preterite of asustar is used to express when someone frightened or scared someone else at a specific moment. For example, “The loud noise frightened me yesterday” – “El ruido fuerte me asustó ayer.”
This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. It’s often used with an indirect object pronoun to indicate who was frightened.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Asustar (to frighten) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | asusté |
| Tú | asustaste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | asustó |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | asustamos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | asustasteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | asustaron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Asustar (to frighten) 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 Asustar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of asustar expresses specific instances of frightening or being frightened.
To frighten/scare: Describes causing fear in a specific moment, for example El ruido me asustó (The noise frightened me), or Los truenos asustaron al perro (The thunder scared the dog).
To be startled: Used reflexively to express being scared, for example Se asustó cuando vio la araña (She got scared when she saw the spider).
Examples
Examples of Asustar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
Me asusté cuando oí el ruido. (I got scared when I heard the noise.)
El trueno asustó a los niños. (The thunder scared the children.)
¿Por qué te asustaste tanto? (Why did you get so scared?)
Nos asustamos al ver la serpiente. (We got scared when we saw the snake.)
Los fuegos artificiales asustaron al perro. (The fireworks scared the dog.)
La película de terror me asustó mucho. (The horror movie scared me a lot.)
Te asustaste sin razón. (You got scared for no reason.)
El gato se asustó con el ruido. (The cat got scared by the noise.)
Asustaron a todos con esa broma. (They scared everyone with that joke.)
Nos asustamos cuando se fue la luz. (We got scared when the power went out.)
La máscara asustó a los pequeños. (The mask scared the little ones.)
Me asusté al ver mi calificación. (I got scared when I saw my grade.)
Se asustó al ver su reflejo. (He got scared when he saw his reflection.)
Asustaste a tu hermana con ese grito. (You scared your sister with that scream.)
Los rayos asustaron a todos en el parque. (The lightning scared everyone in the park.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Asustar (to frighten) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo asusté | I frightened |
| Tú asustaste | You frightened |
| Él / Ella / Usted asustó | He / She / You (formal) frightened |
| Nosotros / Nosotras asustamos | We frightened |
| Vosotros / Vosotras asustasteis | You all frightened |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes asustaron | They / You all (formal) frightened |
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.