The preterite of despedirse is used to express when someone said goodbye at a specific moment in the past. For example, you might say “I said goodbye to my friends at the airport,” indicating a completed action.

This is an e to i stem-changing reflexive verb, which means it uses reflexive pronouns and changes ‘e’ to ‘i’ in the third person singular and plural forms of the preterite.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Despedirse (to say goodbye) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of despedirse indicates a completed action of saying goodbye or taking leave in the past.

To say goodbye: Describes the act of farewell, for example Me despedí de mis padres en el aeropuerto (I said goodbye to my parents at the airport) or Se despidió con un abrazo (He/she said goodbye with a hug).

To quit/leave a job: Used when formally leaving a position, for example Se despidió del trabajo ayer (He/she quit their job yesterday).

Examples

Examples of Despedirse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me despedí de mis amigos en el aeropuerto. (I said goodbye to my friends at the airport.)

¿Te despediste de todos antes de irte? (Did you say goodbye to everyone before leaving?)

Ella se despidió con lágrimas en los ojos. (She said goodbye with tears in her eyes.)

Nos despedimos después de la fiesta. (We said goodbye after the party.)

Los estudiantes se despidieron al final del curso. (The students said goodbye at the end of the course.)

Me despedí de mi trabajo anterior. (I said goodbye to my previous job.)

¿Por qué no te despediste de mí? (Why didn’t you say goodbye to me?)

El profesor se despidió de la clase. (The teacher said goodbye to the class.)

Nos despedimos hasta el próximo año. (We said goodbye until next year.)

Los vecinos se despidieron antes de mudarse. (The neighbors said goodbye before moving.)

Me despedí de mi ciudad natal. (I said goodbye to my hometown.)

¿Te despediste de tus abuelos? (Did you say goodbye to your grandparents?)

El artista se despidió del público. (The artist said goodbye to the audience.)

Nos despedimos con un abrazo fuerte. (We said goodbye with a strong hug.)

Los amigos se despidieron hasta pronto. (The friends said goodbye until soon.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Despedirse (to say goodbye) 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.