The preterite of desayunar is used to express when someone had breakfast at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I had breakfast at 8 AM today” – “Desayuné a las ocho de la mañana hoy.”
This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. It specifically refers to eating breakfast and is commonly used when discussing morning routines in the past.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Desayunar (to have breakfast) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | desayuné |
| Tú | desayunaste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | desayunó |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | desayunamos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | desayunasteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | desayunaron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Desayunar (to have breakfast) 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 Desayunar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of desayunar indicates completed instances of having breakfast.
To have breakfast: Describes specific instances of eating breakfast, for example Desayuné temprano (I had breakfast early), or Desayunaron juntos en el café (They had breakfast together at the café).
To eat morning meal: Used for any morning eating, for example No desayuné nada ese día (I didn’t have any breakfast that day).
Examples
Examples of Desayunar in the Preterite (Past) Tense
Esta mañana desayuné huevos revueltos. (This morning I had scrambled eggs for breakfast.)
¿Desayunaste antes de salir? (Did you have breakfast before leaving?)
Ella desayunó en la cafetería del hotel. (She had breakfast in the hotel cafeteria.)
Desayunamos juntos por primera vez. (We had breakfast together for the first time.)
Los niños desayunaron cereal con leche. (The children had cereal with milk for breakfast.)
¿Dónde desayunaste ayer? (Where did you have breakfast yesterday?)
No desayuné nada antes del examen. (I didn’t have anything for breakfast before the exam.)
Desayunamos muy temprano ese día. (We had breakfast very early that day.)
Mi hermano desayunó un sándwich. (My brother had a sandwich for breakfast.)
Los huéspedes desayunaron en el jardín. (The guests had breakfast in the garden.)
Desayunaste muy poco esta mañana. (You had very little breakfast this morning.)
Desayuné café con tostadas. (I had coffee and toast for breakfast.)
Ellos desayunaron antes de ir a la playa. (They had breakfast before going to the beach.)
Desayunamos fruta fresca y yogur. (We had fresh fruit and yogurt for breakfast.)
¿A qué hora desayunaste hoy? (What time did you have breakfast today?)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Desayunar (to have breakfast) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo desayuné | I had breakfast |
| Tú desayunaste | You had breakfast |
| Él / Ella / Usted desayunó | He / She / You (formal) had breakfast |
| Nosotros / Nosotras desayunamos | We had breakfast |
| Vosotros / Vosotras desayunasteis | You all had breakfast |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes desayunaron | They / You all (formal) had breakfast |
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.