The preterite of vivir is used to express when you lived somewhere for a specific period in the past. For example, when you want to say “I lived in Madrid for two years” – “Viví en Madrid durante dos años.”

This is a regular -ir verb that follows standard preterite conjugation patterns. The stem ‘viv-‘ remains constant throughout all conjugations.

Conjugations

Conjugations of Vivir (to live) in the Preterite (Past) Tense tense (Castilian Spanish):

The Preterite of vivir expresses completed periods of living or life experiences.

To live (completed period): Describes a finished period of residing somewhere, for example Viví en Chile por tres años (I lived in Chile for three years).

To experience fully: Refers to living through an experience, for example Vivimos momentos difíciles (We lived through difficult times).

Examples

Examples of Vivir in the Preterite (Past) Tense

Viví en Madrid durante cinco años. (I lived in Madrid for five years.)

¿Dónde viviste antes de mudarte aquí? (Where did you live before moving here?)

Ella vivió una experiencia increíble. (She lived an incredible experience.)

Vivimos momentos difíciles juntos. (We lived through difficult moments together.)

Los abuelos vivieron en esa casa toda su vida. (The grandparents lived in that house all their life.)

Viví la mejor etapa de mi vida en la universidad. (I lived the best stage of my life at university.)

¿Viviste en el extranjero alguna vez? (Did you ever live abroad?)

El artista vivió en París durante su juventud. (The artist lived in Paris during his youth.)

Vivimos una aventura inolvidable. (We lived an unforgettable adventure.)

Ellos vivieron el terremoto de 2010. (They lived through the 2010 earthquake.)

Viví cerca del mar por un tiempo. (I lived near the sea for a while.)

¿Cómo viviste esa experiencia? (How did you live that experience?)

Mi padre vivió en tres países diferentes. (My father lived in three different countries.)

Vivimos en el campo durante el verano. (We lived in the countryside during summer.)

Las familias vivieron en paz por muchos años. (The families lived in peace for many years.)

Conjugations with English Translations

Conjugations of Vivir (to live) 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.