The preterite of hervir is used to express when something boiled at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “The water boiled at exactly noon” – “El agua hirvió exactamente al mediodía.”
This is an e to i stem-changing verb in the preterite tense. The stem change occurs only in the third person singular (hirvió) and plural (hirvieron) forms.
Conjugations
Conjugations of Hervir (to boil) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):
| Pronoun | Conjugation |
|---|---|
| Yo | herví |
| Tú | herviste |
| Él / Ella / Usted | hirvió |
| Nosotros / Nosotras | hervimos |
| Vosotros / Vosotras | hervisteis |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes | hirvieron |
Boost Your Memorization with Audio!
We’ve included audio recordings of the the conjugations of Hervir (to boil) 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 Hervir in the Preterite (Past) Tense
The Preterite of hervir indicates completed instances of boiling.
To boil (completed action): Describes when liquid reached boiling point, for example El agua hirvió en cinco minutos (The water boiled in five minutes), or Hervimos la leche para el café (We boiled the milk for coffee).
To simmer with emotion: In figurative usage, describes intense emotional states, for example Hirvió de rabia (He boiled with rage).
Examples
Examples of Hervir in the Preterite (Past) Tense
El agua hirvió rápidamente. (The water boiled quickly.)
Herví la leche para el café. (I boiled the milk for the coffee.)
La sopa hirvió por una hora. (The soup boiled for an hour.)
Hervimos los huevos para el desayuno. (We boiled the eggs for breakfast.)
Las verduras hirvieron demasiado tiempo. (The vegetables boiled for too long.)
¿Herviste el agua para el té? (Did you boil the water for the tea?)
La olla hirvió hasta desbordarse. (The pot boiled over.)
Hervimos las papas hasta que se ablandaron. (We boiled the potatoes until they softened.)
El caldo hirvió a fuego lento. (The broth simmered.)
Los fideos hirvieron por diez minutos. (The noodles boiled for ten minutes.)
Herví el agua para desinfectarla. (I boiled the water to disinfect it.)
La pasta hirvió al dente. (The pasta boiled until al dente.)
Hervimos el jarabe hasta espesar. (We boiled the syrup until it thickened.)
Las hierbas hirvieron en el agua. (The herbs boiled in the water.)
El té hirvió demasiado tiempo. (The tea boiled for too long.)
Conjugations with English Translations
Conjugations of Hervir (to boil) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish) with English Translations:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| Yo herví | I boiled |
| Tú herviste | You boiled |
| Él / Ella / Usted hirvió | He / She / You (formal) boiled |
| Nosotros / Nosotras hervimos | We boiled |
| Vosotros / Vosotras hervisteis | You all boiled |
| Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes hirvieron | They / You all (formal) boiled |
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.