The preterite of estudiar is used to express a specific period of studying in the past. For example, you might say “I studied for three hours last night,” indicating a completed action with a defined duration.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. The endings are added directly to the stem ‘estudi-‘ without any changes.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Estudiar (to study) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of estudiar describes completed periods of study or examination.

Academic Study: Used for specific instances of studying, for example Estudié toda la noche (I studied all night). Estudiamos juntos para el examen (We studied together for the exam).

Investigation: Can also mean to examine or analyze something thoroughly, for example Los científicos estudiaron el fenómeno (The scientists studied the phenomenon). Used in professional contexts as in Estudiaron el caso detenidamente (They studied the case carefully).

Examples

Examples of Estudiar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Estudié toda la noche para el examen. (I studied all night for the exam.)

¿Dónde estudiaste medicina? (Where did you study medicine?)

Mi hermana estudió en el extranjero. (My sister studied abroad.)

Estudiamos juntos para el final. (We studied together for the final.)

Los alumnos estudiaron mucho este semestre. (The students studied a lot this semester.)

Estudié español por tres años. (I studied Spanish for three years.)

¿Estudiaste para el examen de matemáticas? (Did you study for the math exam?)

Ella estudió la lección dos veces. (She studied the lesson twice.)

Estudiamos historia latinoamericana. (We studied Latin American history.)

Los investigadores estudiaron el fenómeno. (The researchers studied the phenomenon.)

Estudié el mapa antes del viaje. (I studied the map before the trip.)

¿Por qué no estudiaste ayer? (Why didn’t you study yesterday?)

El científico estudió los resultados. (The scientist studied the results.)

Estudiamos el problema a fondo. (We studied the problem thoroughly.)

Los expertos estudiaron el caso. (The experts studied the case.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Estudiar (to study) 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.