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Conjugation Chart of “Dormir” (to sleep) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Dormir”

The preterite of dormir is used to express when someone slept for a specific period in the past. For example, when you want to say “I slept eight hours last night” – “Dormí ocho horas anoche.”

This is an o to u stem-changing verb in the preterite tense. The stem change only occurs in the third person singular and plural forms (durmió, durmieron), while other forms maintain the original ‘o’.

How to Use Dormir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of dormir indicates completed periods of sleep.

To sleep: Describes a completed period of sleep, for example Dormí ocho horas (I slept for eight hours), or Durmieron en el hotel (They slept at the hotel).

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

Anoche dormí ocho horas seguidas. (Last night I slept eight hours straight.)

¿Dormiste bien en el hotel? (Did you sleep well at the hotel?)

El bebé durmió toda la noche. (The baby slept all night.)

No dormimos nada por el ruido. (We didn’t sleep at all because of the noise.)

Los niños durmieron después del almuerzo. (The children slept after lunch.)

Dormí mal por el calor. (I slept poorly because of the heat.)

¿Dónde dormiste anoche? (Where did you sleep last night?)

Durmió profundamente después del ejercicio. (He slept deeply after exercise.)

Dormimos en el suelo durante el camping. (We slept on the ground during camping.)

Ellos durmieron hasta tarde el domingo. (They slept late on Sunday.)

¿Por qué no dormiste en tu cama? (Why didn’t you sleep in your bed?)

Mi gato durmió todo el día. (My cat slept all day.)

Dormimos mal en ese colchón viejo. (We slept poorly on that old mattress.)

Los huéspedes durmieron en la sala. (The guests slept in the living room.)

Apenas dormí tres horas. (I barely slept three hours.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) 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.