The preterite of reducir is used to express when something was reduced or decreased at a specific moment in the past. For example, “The company reduced its expenses last year” – “La empresa redujo sus gastos el año pasado.”

This is an irregular verb in the preterite tense. The stem changes to ‘reduj-‘ in all forms, following the pattern of other -ducir verbs like producir and conducir.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Reducir (to reduce) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of reducir expresses completed acts of reduction or decrease.

To reduce/decrease: Used for making something smaller or less, for example Reduje mis gastos (I reduced my expenses), or Redujeron el precio (They reduced the price).

To simplify/break down: Indicates making something simpler, for example Redujo el problema a sus elementos básicos (He reduced the problem to its basic elements).

Examples

Examples of Reducir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

La empresa redujo sus gastos en un 30%. (The company reduced its expenses by 30%.)

Redujimos la velocidad en la zona escolar. (We reduced speed in the school zone.)

El chef redujo la salsa a fuego lento. (The chef reduced the sauce over low heat.)

Redujeron el precio de los boletos. (They reduced the ticket prices.)

Reduje mi consumo de azúcar. (I reduced my sugar consumption.)

¿Por qué redujiste las porciones? (Why did you reduce the portions?)

El banco redujo las tasas de interés. (The bank reduced interest rates.)

Redujimos el tiempo de espera. (We reduced the waiting time.)

La fábrica redujo sus emisiones. (The factory reduced its emissions.)

Redujeron el ruido durante la noche. (They reduced the noise during the night.)

Reduje mis horas de trabajo. (I reduced my work hours.)

El gobierno redujo los impuestos. (The government reduced taxes.)

Redujiste la cantidad de sal en la receta. (You reduced the amount of salt in the recipe.)

Redujimos el tamaño del grupo. (We reduced the size of the group.)

La lluvia redujo la visibilidad. (The rain reduced visibility.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Reducir (to reduce) in the Preterite (Past) Tense 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.