The preterite of cepillarse is used to express when you brushed yourself at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I brushed my teeth this morning” – “Me cepillé los dientes esta mañana.”

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

Conjugations

Conjugations of Cepillarse (to brush oneself) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of cepillarse indicates completed actions of brushing oneself.

To brush oneself: Used for personal grooming, for example Me cepillé los dientes después de comer (I brushed my teeth after eating), or Se cepilló el pelo antes de salir (She brushed her hair before going out).

To groom: Describes specific instances of grooming, for example Me cepillé bien para la entrevista (I groomed myself well for the interview).

Examples

Examples of Cepillarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me cepillé los dientes después de comer. (I brushed my teeth after eating.)

¿Te cepillaste el pelo esta mañana? (Did you brush your hair this morning?)

Se cepilló la chaqueta antes de salir. (He/she brushed off their jacket before leaving.)

Nos cepillamos los dientes antes de dormir. (We brushed our teeth before bed.)

Se cepillaron el cabello para la foto. (They brushed their hair for the photo.)

Me cepillé la ropa para quitar el polvo. (I brushed my clothes to remove the dust.)

¿Por qué no te cepillaste los zapatos? (Why didn’t you brush your shoes?)

Se cepilló los dientes tres veces ayer. (He/she brushed their teeth three times yesterday.)

Nos cepillamos el pelo después de nadar. (We brushed our hair after swimming.)

Se cepillaron la ropa después del viaje. (They brushed their clothes after the trip.)

Me cepillé el abrigo antes de la entrevista. (I brushed my coat before the interview.)

Te cepillaste muy rápido esta mañana. (You brushed very quickly this morning.)

Se cepilló el cabello con cuidado. (She brushed her hair carefully.)

Nos cepillamos después de comer dulces. (We brushed after eating sweets.)

Se cepillaron antes de la foto familiar. (They brushed before the family photo.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Cepillarse (to brush oneself) 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.