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Conjugation Chart of “Matar” (to kill) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Matar”

The preterite of matar is used to express a specific instance of killing in the past, for example El cazador mató al lobo (The hunter killed the wolf). This tense emphasizes the completed action at a particular moment.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. The conjugation is straightforward and predictable.

How to Use Matar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The preterite of matar describes a completed action of killing in the past.

To kill: Describes ending life, for example El cazador mató al animal (The hunter killed the animal) or La enfermedad mató a las plantas (The disease killed the plants).

To turn off/stop: Colloquially used for switching things off, for example Maté el motor del coche (I turned off the car engine).

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

Maté las plantas por accidente. (I accidentally killed the plants.)

Mataste el tiempo leyendo revistas. (You killed time reading magazines.)

El frío mató las flores del jardín. (The cold killed the garden flowers.)

Matamos el ruido con música suave. (We killed the noise with soft music.)

Las heladas mataron los cultivos. (The frost killed the crops.)

Maté el motor del carro. (I killed the car engine.)

Mataste la conversación con ese comentario. (You killed the conversation with that comment.)

El sol mató el césped. (The sun killed the grass.)

Matamos la batería del celular. (We killed the phone battery.)

Los insecticidas mataron las plagas. (The pesticides killed the pests.)

Maté el aburrimiento con un buen libro. (I killed the boredom with a good book.)

Mataste la señal del internet. (You killed the internet signal.)

La sequía mató los árboles. (The drought killed the trees.)

Matamos el hambre con una pizza. (We killed our hunger with a pizza.)

Los excesos mataron el presupuesto. (The excesses killed the budget.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Matar (to kill) in the Preterite (Past) 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.