The preterite of dormir is used to express when you slept for a specific period in the past. For example, you might say “I slept for eight hours last night,” indicating a completed period of sleep.

This is an o to u stem-changing verb, where the stem vowel changes from ‘o’ to ‘u’ in the third person singular and plural forms of the preterite.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of dormir describes completed periods of sleep with clear beginning and end points.

Completed Sleep: Used for specific instances of sleeping, for example Dormí ocho horas anoche (I slept eight hours last night). No durmió bien (He didn’t sleep well).

Metaphorical Uses: Can also mean to spend the night somewhere, for example Durmieron en un hotel (They spent the night in a hotel). In slang can mean to miss an opportunity, as in Se durmió en los laureles (He rested on his laurels).

Examples

Examples of Dormir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Dormí ocho horas anoche. (I slept eight hours last night.)

¿Dormiste bien ayer? (Did you sleep well yesterday?)

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

Dormimos en un hotel muy cómodo. (We slept in a very comfortable hotel.)

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

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

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

Mi hermana durmió hasta tarde. (My sister slept until late.)

Dormimos bajo las estrellas. (We slept under the stars.)

Los huéspedes durmieron en el sofá. (The guests slept on the couch.)

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

¿Por qué no dormiste anoche? (Why didn’t you sleep last night?)

El gato durmió todo el día. (The cat slept all day.)

Dormimos durante el viaje en tren. (We slept during the train journey.)

Los estudiantes durmieron poco antes del examen. (The students slept little before the exam.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Dormir (to sleep) 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.