The preterite of oír is used to express a specific instance of hearing something in the past, for example Oí un ruido extraño anoche (I heard a strange noise last night). This tense emphasizes the completed action of hearing at a particular moment.

This verb follows the e to y stem-changing pattern in the preterite, but only in the third person singular and plural forms. Additionally, it requires written accents on the ‘i’ in most forms to maintain proper pronunciation.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Oír (to hear) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of oír indicates a completed action of hearing something in the past.

To hear: Describes perceiving a sound, for example Oí un ruido extraño (I heard a strange noise) or Oyeron la explosión desde lejos (They heard the explosion from far away).

To listen to: Used for actively listening to something, for example Oí las noticias en la radio (I listened to the news on the radio).

To hear about: Used for receiving information, for example Oí que te casaste (I heard that you got married).

Examples

Examples of Oír in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Oí un ruido extraño anoche. (I heard a strange noise last night.)

Oíste las noticias en la radio. (You heard the news on the radio.)

El testigo oyó toda la conversación. (The witness heard the entire conversation.)

Oímos música durante el viaje. (We heard music during the trip.)

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

Oí tu voz entre la multitud. (I heard your voice in the crowd.)

Oíste el trueno a lo lejos. (You heard the thunder in the distance.)

El doctor oyó un sonido irregular. (The doctor heard an irregular sound.)

Oímos los pájaros al amanecer. (We heard the birds at dawn.)

Los perros oyeron pasos. (The dogs heard footsteps.)

Oí la alarma temprano. (I heard the alarm early.)

Oíste el mensaje correctamente. (You heard the message correctly.)

La maestra oyó la respuesta. (The teacher heard the answer.)

Oímos aplausos al final. (We heard applause at the end.)

Los músicos oyeron la señal para comenzar. (The musicians heard the signal to begin.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Oír (to hear) 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.