The preterite of huir is used to express a specific instance of fleeing or running away in the past. For example, you might say “They fled the city during the storm,” describing a completed action of escape.

This verb follows a special pattern in the preterite where the ‘i’ changes to ‘y’ in the third person singular and plural forms to maintain proper pronunciation.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Huir (to flee) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The Preterite of huir indicates completed actions of fleeing or escaping in the past.

To flee/escape: Physical escape, for example Huyó de la ciudad esa noche (He fled from the city that night).

To run away: Avoiding responsibility, for example Huyeron de sus problemas (They ran away from their problems).

Examples

Examples of Huir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Huí de la ciudad por la tormenta. (I fled the city because of the storm.)

¿Por qué huiste sin despedirte? (Why did you flee without saying goodbye?)

El ladrón huyó de la policía. (The thief fled from the police.)

Huimos del peligro rápidamente. (We fled from danger quickly.)

Los animales huyeron del incendio forestal. (The animals fled from the forest fire.)

Huí de mis responsabilidades. (I fled from my responsibilities.)

¿Adónde huiste después de la discusión? (Where did you flee to after the argument?)

El prisionero huyó durante la noche. (The prisoner fled during the night.)

Huimos de la lluvia torrencial. (We fled from the torrential rain.)

Los testigos huyeron de la escena. (The witnesses fled from the scene.)

Huí del ruido de la ciudad. (I fled from the city noise.)

¿Cuándo huiste de casa? (When did you flee from home?)

El gato huyó del perro. (The cat fled from the dog.)

Huimos de la fiesta aburrida. (We fled from the boring party.)

Los pájaros huyeron del depredador. (The birds fled from the predator.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Huir (to flee) 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.