The preterite of preguntar is used to express a specific instance of asking a question in the past. For example, you might say “I asked her about the project yesterday,” indicating a completed action of asking at a particular moment.

This is a regular -ar verb that follows the standard preterite conjugation pattern. The conjugations are straightforward and predictable, making it easy to learn and use.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Preguntar (to ask) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Latin American Spanish):

The preterite of preguntar describes a completed action of asking or questioning in the past.

To ask a question: Describes the act of requesting information, for example Le pregunté la hora (I asked him/her for the time) or Preguntó por ti esta mañana (He/she asked about you this morning).

To inquire: Used for making formal inquiries, for example Pregunté por el precio de la casa (I inquired about the price of the house).

To question: Used in more investigative contexts, for example El detective preguntó a todos los testigos (The detective questioned all the witnesses).

Examples

Examples of Preguntar in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Pregunté por la dirección del museo. (I asked for the museum’s address.)

¿Preguntaste el precio? (Did you ask the price?)

El estudiante preguntó por la tarea. (The student asked about the homework.)

Preguntamos por el horario del tren. (We asked about the train schedule.)

Los turistas preguntaron por un buen restaurante. (The tourists asked for a good restaurant.)

Pregunté tu nombre pero no lo escuché. (I asked your name but didn’t hear it.)

¿Le preguntaste a tu jefe sobre las vacaciones? (Did you ask your boss about vacation?)

Ella preguntó por ti esta mañana. (She asked about you this morning.)

Preguntamos la hora de la reunión. (We asked about the meeting time.)

Los periodistas preguntaron sobre el incidente. (The journalists asked about the incident.)

Pregunté cómo llegar al aeropuerto. (I asked how to get to the airport.)

¿Preguntaste por qué no vino? (Did you ask why they didn’t come?)

El doctor preguntó por los síntomas. (The doctor asked about the symptoms.)

Preguntamos por el resultado del examen. (We asked about the exam result.)

Los niños preguntaron cuándo llegaríamos. (The children asked when we would arrive.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Preguntar (to ask) 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.