The preterite of encontrarse is used to express when people met or found themselves in a situation at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “We met at the café yesterday” – “Nos encontramos en el café ayer.”

This is a regular -ar reflexive verb in the preterite tense. Remember to include the appropriate reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, se) before each conjugated form.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Encontrarse (to find oneself/meet) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of encontrarse indicates specific instances of meeting or finding oneself.

To meet (by chance): Used for chance encounters, for example Me encontré con Juan en el mercado (I ran into Juan at the market), or Se encontraron después de muchos años (They met after many years).

To find oneself: Describes ending up in a situation, for example Me encontré sin dinero (I found myself without money).

Examples

Examples of Encontrarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me encontré con María en el centro. (I met up with María downtown.)

¿Dónde te encontraste con tus amigos? (Where did you meet up with your friends?)

Se encontró con su hermano después de años. (He met up with his brother after years.)

Nos encontramos por casualidad. (We met by chance.)

Se encontraron en la conferencia. (They met at the conference.)

Me encontré en una situación difícil. (I found myself in a difficult situation.)

Te encontraste con la sorpresa. (You came upon the surprise.)

Se encontró solo en la ciudad nueva. (He found himself alone in the new city.)

Nos encontramos frente al museo. (We met in front of the museum.)

Se encontraron después del trabajo. (They met after work.)

Me encontré el libro que buscaba. (I found the book I was looking for.)

¿Te encontraste bien después del viaje? (Did you feel well after the trip?)

Se encontró con una agradable sorpresa. (He/she came upon a pleasant surprise.)

Nos encontramos en una situación inesperada. (We found ourselves in an unexpected situation.)

Se encontraron en el lugar acordado. (They met at the agreed place.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Encontrarse (to find oneself/meet) in the Preterite (Past) Tense 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.