The preterite of descansar is used to express when someone rested for a specific period in the past. For example, “I rested for two hours yesterday” – “Descansé dos horas ayer.”

This is a regular -ar verb in the preterite tense. Despite being a compound verb starting with ‘des-‘, it follows the standard conjugation pattern.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Descansar (to rest) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of descansar indicates completed periods of rest or relaxation.

To rest/relax: Used for specific periods of resting, for example Descansé todo el domingo (I rested all Sunday), or Descansaron después del viaje (They rested after the trip).

To take a break: Refers to taking time off, for example Descansó una hora (She took an hour’s break).

Examples

Examples of Descansar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Descansé toda la tarde después del viaje. (I rested all afternoon after the trip.)

¿Descansaste bien anoche? (Did you rest well last night?)

El equipo descansó después del partido. (The team rested after the game.)

Descansamos en un hotel junto al mar. (We rested at a hotel by the sea.)

Los trabajadores descansaron durante su hora de almuerzo. (The workers rested during their lunch hour.)

No descansé lo suficiente ayer. (I didn’t rest enough yesterday.)

Descansaste demasiado tiempo. (You rested for too long.)

Mi abuela descansó un rato en el sofá. (My grandmother rested for a while on the couch.)

Descansamos bajo la sombra de un árbol. (We rested under the shade of a tree.)

Los atletas descansaron antes de la competencia. (The athletes rested before the competition.)

Descansé mejor después de tomar el té. (I rested better after drinking the tea.)

¿Por qué no descansaste cuando te lo sugerí? (Why didn’t you rest when I suggested it?)

El bebé descansó toda la noche. (The baby rested all night.)

Descansamos lo necesario para recuperarnos. (We rested enough to recover.)

Finalmente descansaron después del largo día. (They finally rested after the long day.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Descansar (to rest) 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.