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Conjugation Chart

“Llorar” (to cry) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Llorar”

The preterite of llorar is used to express when someone cried at a specific moment in the past. For example, when you want to say “She cried when she saw the movie” – “Ella lloró cuando vio la película.”

This verb follows the regular -ar conjugation pattern in the preterite tense. Despite beginning with ‘ll’, it follows the standard -ar verb endings without any spelling changes.

How to Use Llorar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of llorar expresses specific instances of crying or weeping.

To cry/weep: Describes a specific incident of crying, for example Lloré cuando vi la película (I cried when I watched the movie), or El bebé lloró toda la noche (The baby cried all night).

To mourn/lament: Used for expressing grief or sadness, for example Lloramos la pérdida de nuestro amigo (We mourned the loss of our friend).

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

Lloré de alegría cuando recibí la noticia. (I cried with joy when I received the news.)

El bebé lloró toda la noche. (The baby cried all night.)

Lloraste durante la película triste. (You cried during the sad movie.)

Todos lloraron en la boda. (Everyone cried at the wedding.)

Lloramos cuando nos despedimos. (We cried when we said goodbye.)

La niña lloró al perder su juguete. (The girl cried when she lost her toy.)

No lloré cuando me caí. (I didn’t cry when I fell.)

Lloraron de risa durante la comedia. (They cried with laughter during the comedy.)

Lloró al escuchar la canción. (She cried upon hearing the song.)

Lloramos de emoción en la graduación. (We cried with emotion at graduation.)

¿Por qué lloraste ayer? (Why did you cry yesterday?)

El público lloró durante la actuación. (The audience cried during the performance.)

Lloré cuando leí la carta. (I cried when I read the letter.)

Los niños lloraron al ver partir el tren. (The children cried watching the train leave.)

Lloró de felicidad al verla. (He cried with happiness upon seeing her.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Llorar (to cry) 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.