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Conjugation Chart of “Querer” (to want) in the Preterite (Past) Tense

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Understanding the Preterite (Past) Tense of “Querer”

The preterite of querer is used to express when someone wanted something at a specific moment or for a defined period in the past. For example, “He didn’t want to go to the party” – “No quiso ir a la fiesta.”

This is an irregular verb in the preterite tense. The stem changes to ‘quis-‘ throughout all conjugations, making it behave differently from its present tense form.

How to Use Querer in the Preterite (Past) Tense

The Preterite of querer expresses specific instances of wanting or trying.

To want/love: In the preterite, often implies attempted action or emotional impact, for example Quise llamarte (I tried to call you), or No quisieron venir (They didn’t want to come/refused to come).

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

Nunca quise lastimarte. (I never wanted to hurt you.)

¿Por qué no quisiste venir a la fiesta? (Why didn’t you want to come to the party?)

Ella no quiso escuchar mis explicaciones. (She didn’t want to hear my explanations.)

No quisimos molestar a nadie. (We didn’t want to bother anyone.)

Ellos quisieron ayudar pero era tarde. (They wanted to help but it was too late.)

Quise llamarte ayer. (I wanted to call you yesterday.)

¿Quisiste decir algo más? (Did you want to say something else?)

No quiso participar en el proyecto. (He/she didn’t want to participate in the project.)

Quisimos celebrar tu cumpleaños. (We wanted to celebrate your birthday.)

Los niños no quisieron comer verduras. (The children didn’t want to eat vegetables.)

Quise comprar el libro pero era muy caro. (I wanted to buy the book but it was very expensive.)

¿Quisiste ir al concierto? (Did you want to go to the concert?)

Nadie quiso tomar la responsabilidad. (Nobody wanted to take responsibility.)

Quisimos hacer lo correcto. (We wanted to do the right thing.)

Todos quisieron participar en la obra. (Everyone wanted to participate in the play.)

Conjugation Chart with English Translations

Conjugations of Querer (to want) 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.