The preterite of insistir is used to express when someone insisted on something at a specific moment in the past. For example, “He insisted on paying for dinner last night” – “Insistió en pagar la cena anoche.”

This verb follows the regular -ir conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. It’s commonly used with the preposition ‘en’ followed by an infinitive or noun to express what was insisted upon.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Insistir (to insist) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of insistir indicates completed acts of insistence.

To insist (completed action): Describes specific instances of insisting, for example Insistí en mi punto de vista (I insisted on my point of view), or Insistieron en quedarse (They insisted on staying).

To persist/maintain: Used for maintaining a position firmly, for example Insistió en su inocencia (He insisted on his innocence).

Examples

Examples of Insistir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Ella insistió en pagar la cuenta. (She insisted on paying the bill.)

Insistí en que tomaran precauciones. (I insisted that they take precautions.)

Los estudiantes insistieron en cambiar la fecha del examen. (The students insisted on changing the exam date.)

Insististe tanto que al final acepté. (You insisted so much that I finally accepted.)

Insistimos en reunirnos personalmente. (We insisted on meeting in person.)

El doctor insistió en hacer más pruebas. (The doctor insisted on doing more tests.)

Insistieron en la importancia de llegar temprano. (They insisted on the importance of arriving early.)

¿Por qué insististe en ir por ese camino? (Why did you insist on going that way?)

Insistí en hablar con el gerente. (I insisted on speaking with the manager.)

Mi madre insistió en que la llamara al llegar. (My mother insisted that I call her upon arrival.)

Insistimos en mantener las tradiciones. (We insisted on maintaining the traditions.)

El cliente insistió en un reembolso completo. (The customer insisted on a full refund.)

Insistieron en celebrar mi cumpleaños. (They insisted on celebrating my birthday.)

Insistí en la verdad hasta el final. (I insisted on the truth until the end.)

¿Por qué no insististe más? (Why didn’t you insist more?)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Insistir (to insist) 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.