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Conjugation Chart

“Oír” (to hear) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Oír”

The preterite of oír is used to express when you heard something at a specific moment in the past. For example, “I heard a strange noise last night” – “Oí un ruido extraño anoche.”

This verb follows the e to y stem-changing pattern in the preterite, but only in the third person forms (oyó, oyeron). The other forms maintain the regular stem but keep the written accent on the i.

How to Use Oír in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of oír expresses specific instances of hearing.

To hear (single instance): Used for specific moments of hearing something, for example Oí un ruido extraño (I heard a strange noise), or Oyeron la explosión (They heard the explosion).

To listen to/attend: Describes attending or listening to something specific, for example Oímos su presentación (We listened to their presentation).

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

Oí un ruido extraño en la cocina. (I heard a strange noise in the kitchen.)

¿Oíste las noticias de ayer? (Did you hear yesterday’s news?)

Oyeron música toda la noche. (They heard music all night.)

Oímos los fuegos artificiales desde casa. (We heard the fireworks from home.)

¿Oíste lo que dijo? (Did you hear what he said?)

Nunca oyó la alarma sonar. (He never heard the alarm go off.)

Oí que te vas del país. (I heard you’re leaving the country.)

Los vecinos oyeron la discusión. (The neighbors heard the argument.)

Oímos aplausos desde el teatro. (We heard applause from the theater.)

¿Oíste el trueno anoche? (Did you hear the thunder last night?)

Oyó pasos en el pasillo. (She heard footsteps in the hallway.)

Oí tu mensaje de voz esta mañana. (I heard your voice message this morning.)

Todos oyeron la explosión. (Everyone heard the explosion.)

Oímos el anuncio por la radio. (We heard the announcement on the radio.)

¿Oíste el nuevo disco? (Did you hear the new album?)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Oír (to hear) 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.