The preterite of distraer is used to express when someone distracted or diverted attention at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “The noise distracted me from my work” – “El ruido me distrajo de mi trabajo.”
This is an irregular verb in the preterite tense. Following the pattern of traer, it uses the stem ‘distraj-‘ throughout all forms.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Distraer (to distract) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | distraje |
| Tú | distrajiste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | distrajo |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | distrajimos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | distrajisteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | distrajeron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Distraer (to distract) 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 Distraer in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of distraer expresses completed actions of distraction.
To distract: Used for specific instances of distracting someone, for example El ruido me distrajo del trabajo (The noise distracted me from work), or La música los distrajo de sus preocupaciones (The music distracted them from their worries).
To entertain/amuse: Indicates entertaining someone for a specific period, for example La película nos distrajo por dos horas (The movie entertained us for two hours).
Examples
Examples of Distraer in the Preterite (Past) Tense
La música me distrajo del trabajo. (The music distracted me from work.)
El ruido distrajo a los estudiantes. (The noise distracted the students.)
Me distraje con el teléfono. (I got distracted by the phone.)
¿Te distrajiste durante la clase? (Did you get distracted during class?)
Los juegos distrajeron a los niños. (The games distracted the children.)
Nos distrajimos con la conversación. (We got distracted by the conversation.)
El accidente distrajo el tráfico. (The accident diverted traffic.)
La película me distrajo de mis preocupaciones. (The movie distracted me from my worries.)
Se distrajo mientras conducía. (He/she got distracted while driving.)
Los payasos distrajeron a los pacientes. (The clowns distracted the patients.)
Me distraje con las redes sociales. (I got distracted by social media.)
El espectáculo distrajo a la audiencia. (The show distracted the audience.)
Nos distrajimos del objetivo principal. (We got distracted from the main objective.)
La tormenta distrajo la atención de todos. (The storm distracted everyone’s attention.)
Te distrajiste fácilmente hoy. (You got easily distracted today.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Distraer (to distract) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo distraje | I distracted |
| Tú distrajiste | You distracted |
| Él / Ella / Usted distrajo | He / She / You (formal) distracted |
| Nosotros / Nosotras distrajimos | We distracted |
| Vosotros / Vosotras distrajisteis | You all distracted |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes distrajeron | They / You all (formal) distracted |
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.