The preterite of calentarse is used to express when someone warmed themselves up at a specific point in the past. For example, “I warmed up before the race” – “Me calenté antes de la carrera.”

This is a regular -ar reflexive verb in the preterite tense. Remember to include the appropriate reflexive pronouns (me, te, se, nos) before each conjugated form.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Calentarse (to warm up) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of calentarse indicates completed actions of warming up.

To warm up: Used for specific instances of becoming warm, for example Me calenté junto al fuego (I warmed up by the fire).

To heat up/warm up (before exercise): Describes warming up before physical activity, for example Los atletas se calentaron antes del partido (The athletes warmed up before the game).

Examples

Examples of Calentarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me calenté junto a la chimenea durante la tormenta. (I warmed myself by the fireplace during the storm.)

El atleta se calentó antes del partido. (The athlete warmed up before the game.)

Nos calentamos con chocolate caliente. (We warmed ourselves up with hot chocolate.)

Te calentaste demasiado rápido los músculos. (You warmed up your muscles too quickly.)

El ambiente se calentó durante la discusión. (The atmosphere heated up during the discussion.)

Los jugadores se calentaron en la cancha. (The players warmed up on the court.)

Me calenté las manos con el café. (I warmed my hands with the coffee.)

Se calentó con una manta eléctrica. (They warmed themselves with an electric blanket.)

Nos calentamos al sol después de nadar. (We warmed ourselves in the sun after swimming.)

Te calentaste demasiado durante el ejercicio. (You got too hot during the exercise.)

El debate se calentó rápidamente. (The debate heated up quickly.)

Los estudiantes se calentaron las manos frotándolas. (The students warmed their hands by rubbing them.)

Me calenté después de la caminata en la nieve. (I warmed up after the walk in the snow.)

El motor se calentó demasiado. (The engine got too hot.)

Los gimnastas se calentaron antes de la rutina. (The gymnasts warmed up before the routine.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Calentarse (to warm up) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:

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.