The preterite of leer is used to express a completed reading in the past. For example, you might say “I read the entire book last weekend,” indicating a finished action within a specific timeframe.

This is an e to y stem-changing verb in the preterite. The stem change occurs in the third person singular and plural forms, where ‘e’ changes to ‘y’ before the endings.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Leer (to read) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of leer describes a completed instance of reading in the past.

To read: Indicates completing the reading of something, for example, Leí todo el libro en un día (I read the entire book in one day).

To study: Used for studying written material, for example, Leyó todos los documentos antes de la reunión (He/she read all the documents before the meeting).

To interpret: Describes interpreting or understanding signs or situations, for example, Leyó la situación perfectamente (He/she read the situation perfectly).

Examples

Examples of Leer in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Leí todo el libro en un día. (I read the whole book in one day.)

¿Leíste el artículo que te envié? (Did you read the article I sent you?)

Ella leyó la carta en voz alta. (She read the letter aloud.)

Leímos las instrucciones con cuidado. (We read the instructions carefully.)

Los estudiantes leyeron el capítulo completo. (The students read the entire chapter.)

Leí las noticias esta mañana. (I read the news this morning.)

¿Leíste mi mensaje anoche? (Did you read my message last night?)

El profesor leyó el poema a la clase. (The teacher read the poem to the class.)

Leímos la historia antes de dormir. (We read the story before bed.)

Los actores leyeron el guion juntos. (The actors read the script together.)

Leí tres novelas durante las vacaciones. (I read three novels during vacation.)

Mi hermana leyó mi diario sin permiso. (My sister read my diary without permission.)

Leímos los comentarios en el blog. (We read the comments on the blog.)

Los niños leyeron cuentos en la biblioteca. (The children read stories in the library.)

Leí la reseña antes de ver la película. (I read the review before watching the movie.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Leer (to read) 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.