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Conjugation Chart of “Despedir” (to say goodbye/dismiss) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Despedir”

The preterite of despedir is used to express when someone said goodbye or dismissed someone at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “We said goodbye to our friends at the airport” – “Despedimos a nuestros amigos en el aeropuerto.”

This is an e to i stem-changing verb in the preterite tense. The stem change occurs only in the third person singular (despidió) and plural (despidieron) forms.

How to Use Despedir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of despedir expresses acts of farewell or dismissal.

To say goodbye: Describes a specific farewell, for example Me despedí de mis amigos (I said goodbye to my friends), or Se despidieron en el aeropuerto (They said goodbye at the airport).

To fire/dismiss: Indicates termination of employment, for example La empresa despidió a veinte empleados (The company fired twenty employees).

Real Life Examples of Despedir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Despedí a mi mejor empleado. (I fired my best employee.)

Nos despedimos en el aeropuerto. (We said goodbye at the airport.)

La empresa despidió a cincuenta trabajadores. (The company fired fifty workers.)

¿Te despediste de Juan? (Did you say goodbye to Juan?)

Se despidieron con un abrazo. (They said goodbye with a hug.)

Despedí el año con una fiesta. (I bid farewell to the year with a party.)

El jefe despidió a todo el equipo. (The boss fired the entire team.)

Nos despedimos hasta el próximo verano. (We said goodbye until next summer.)

Despediste el trabajo sin pensarlo. (You quit the job without thinking about it.)

Se despidieron para siempre. (They said goodbye forever.)

Despedí el día con una sonrisa. (I bid farewell to the day with a smile.)

La compañía despidió al director. (The company fired the director.)

Nos despedimos de nuestro hogar. (We said goodbye to our home.)

Despediste a tu asistente ayer. (You fired your assistant yesterday.)

Se despidieron de la ciudad natal. (They bid farewell to their hometown.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Despedir (to say goodbye/dismiss) in the Preterite (Past) 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.