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Conjugation Chart

“Lavarse” (to wash oneself) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Lavarse”

The preterite of lavarse is used to express when you washed yourself at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “I washed my face this morning” – “Me lavé la cara esta mañana.”

This is a regular -ar reflexive verb in the preterite tense. Like all reflexive verbs, it requires the corresponding reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before the conjugated form.

How to Use Lavarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of lavarse indicates completed actions of washing oneself.

To wash oneself: Used for personal cleaning, for example Me lavé la cara (I washed my face), or Se lavaron las manos antes de comer (They washed their hands before eating).

To clean up: Describes thorough cleaning, for example Me lavé bien después del ejercicio (I cleaned myself thoroughly after exercise).

Real Life Examples of Lavarse in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Me lavé las manos antes de comer. (I washed my hands before eating.)

¿Te lavaste la cara esta mañana? (Did you wash your face this morning?)

Se lavó el pelo con champú nuevo. (He/she washed their hair with new shampoo.)

Nos lavamos después de hacer ejercicio. (We washed ourselves after exercising.)

Se lavaron la ropa en el río. (They washed their clothes in the river.)

Me lavé los dientes después del café. (I brushed my teeth after coffee.)

¿Te lavaste bien las manos? (Did you wash your hands well?)

Se lavó la cara con agua fría. (He/she washed their face with cold water.)

Nos lavamos el barro de los zapatos. (We washed the mud off our shoes.)

Se lavaron antes de la cena. (They washed up before dinner.)

Me lavé el uniforme ayer. (I washed my uniform yesterday.)

Te lavaste muy rápido esta vez. (You washed very quickly this time.)

Se lavó las manchas de la camisa. (He/she washed the stains from the shirt.)

Nos lavamos en el lago durante el camping. (We washed in the lake while camping.)

Se lavaron la pintura de las manos. (They washed the paint off their hands.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Lavarse (to wash oneself) in the Preterite (Past) 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.