The preterite of cenar is used to express when someone had dinner at a specific time in the past. For example, you might say “I had dinner with my family last night,” indicating a completed action.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. The conjugations are straightforward and commonly used.

Conjugations

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

The preterite of cenar describes the completed action of having dinner in the past.

To have dinner/dine: Refers to eating the evening meal, for example Cenamos en un restaurante bonito (We had dinner at a nice restaurant) or Cenó temprano y se fue a dormir (He/she had dinner early and went to bed).

To dine with someone: Implies sharing dinner in a social context, for example Cené con mis amigos anoche (I had dinner with my friends last night).

Examples

Examples of Cenar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Cené con mis amigos anoche. (I had dinner with my friends last night.)

¿Dónde cenaste ayer? (Where did you have dinner yesterday?)

Ella cenó sola en casa. (She had dinner alone at home.)

Cenamos en un restaurante italiano. (We had dinner at an Italian restaurant.)

Los invitados cenaron temprano. (The guests had dinner early.)

Cené pasta y ensalada. (I had pasta and salad for dinner.)

¿Qué cenaste en la fiesta? (What did you have for dinner at the party?)

Mi familia cenó junta por primera vez en meses. (My family had dinner together for the first time in months.)

Cenamos después del teatro. (We had dinner after the theater.)

Los niños cenaron antes de dormir. (The children had dinner before bed.)

Cené muy tarde anoche. (I had dinner very late last night.)

¿A qué hora cenaste? (What time did you have dinner?)

Ella cenó con sus colegas. (She had dinner with her colleagues.)

Cenamos algo ligero. (We had a light dinner.)

Mis padres cenaron en el jardín. (My parents had dinner in the garden.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Cenar (to have dinner) 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.