Conjugate querer in the preterite tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Indefinido)

Querer (to want) has an irregular stem quis- in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish.

Learn how to conjugate "querer" in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish

yo

quise

quisiste

él/ella/Ud.

quiso

nosotros / nosotras

quisimos

vosotros / vosotras

quisisteis

ellos/ellas/Uds.  

quisieron

Here are some examples to read and listen to:

Yo no quise ir a la fiesta ayer.I did not want to go to the party yesterday.

quisiste comprar el vestido.You wanted to buy the dress.

Silvia quiso dormir más horas la semana pasada.Silvia wanted to sleep more hours last week.

Nosotros quisimos ir de vacaciones a México el año pasado.We wanted to go on holiday to Mexico last year.

Vosotros quisisteis comprar flores a Manuela.You wanted to buy flowers for Manuela.

Los ganadores quisieron celebrar su éxito.The winners wanted to celebrate their success.

Ustedes quisieron reservar en este hotel.You wanted to book this hotel.

Querer belongs to a group of verbs that all have an irregular stem but share the same set of endings. To learn more about this have a look at Irregulares en Indefinido/mismas terminaciones.

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Examples and resources

Yo no quise ir a la fiesta ayer.I did not want to go to the party yesterday.
quisiste comprar el vestido.You wanted to buy the dress.
Silvia quiso dormir más horas la semana pasada.Silvia wanted to sleep more hours last week.
Vosotros quisisteis comprar flores a Manuela.You wanted to buy flowers for Manuela.
Los ganadores quisieron celebrar su éxito.The winners wanted to celebrate their success.
Ustedes quisieron reservar en este hotel.You wanted to book this hotel.
Nosotros quisimos ir de vacaciones a México el año pasado.We wanted to go on holiday to Mexico last year.
Conjugate querer in the preterite tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Indefinido)
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Nosotros jugar al tenis el lunes pasado pero llovía. (We wanted to play tennis last Monday but it was raining.)
Conjugate "querer" in Pretérito indefinido

Q&A Forum 5 questions, 5 answers

Adam G.B2Kwiziq community member

No accent on final vowel

I see here that querer does not have an accent for the first person preterito indefinido: quise, whereas some verbs have one, like compré - is there a rule that I can apply to distinguish it, or is it just because querer is irregular?


Thanks

Asked 1 year ago
InmaKwiziq Head of Spanish, Native Spanish TeacherCorrect answer

Hola Adam

There is a rule indeed, or I should say a group of verbs that all have a different stem but they share the same endings and don't have the accent on the last syllable. You can see the link at the bottom of that lesson about querer in the preterite. Here's the link

Saludos

Inma 

Adam G. asked:

No accent on final vowel

I see here that querer does not have an accent for the first person preterito indefinido: quise, whereas some verbs have one, like compré - is there a rule that I can apply to distinguish it, or is it just because querer is irregular?


Thanks

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D. A.B1Kwiziq community member

Tried or wanted or both?

Can querer in pretérito indefinido mean either wanted or tried?

Asked 2 years ago
InmaKwiziq Head of Spanish, Native Spanish TeacherCorrect answer

Hola Tara

Yes, querer in the preterite tense has that nuance: tried; 

Here is a kwiziq lesson on that topic that will help. Have a look:

Querer in the preterite vs the imperfect

I hope it's useful.

Saludos

Inma

D. A. asked:

Tried or wanted or both?

Can querer in pretérito indefinido mean either wanted or tried?

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John N.C1Kwiziq community member

Simple Past Querer - to want, or to try?

How does this lesson fit with the other lesson "Using Querer in El Preterito Indefinido vs. El Preterito Imperfecto", which seems to be saying that querer in the Simple Past means "to try"?


Asked 3 years ago
John N. asked:

Simple Past Querer - to want, or to try?

How does this lesson fit with the other lesson "Using Querer in El Preterito Indefinido vs. El Preterito Imperfecto", which seems to be saying that querer in the Simple Past means "to try"?


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Connor L.B2Kwiziq community member

Why 'reservar en' instead of just 'reservar'?

For the sentence:

Ustedes quisieron reservar en este hotel.

Asked 3 years ago
InmaKwiziq Head of Spanish, Native Spanish TeacherCorrect answer

Hola Connor

We sometimes say literally to book in somewhere using reservar en + place. It is as if we were omitting what we are booking, so, booking "a room" is implicit, i.e "reservar una habitación en un hotel" (reservar en un hotel) or "reservar una mesa en un restaurante" (reservar en un restaurante).

I hope this clarified it.

Saludos

Inma

Connor L. asked:

Why 'reservar en' instead of just 'reservar'?

For the sentence:

Ustedes quisieron reservar en este hotel.

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Gabor E.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Vosotros quisisteis comprar flores a Manuela

Vosotros quisisteis comprar flores a Manuela.

Hi! In the above sentence, if the flowers were a present, would they buy them "para" instead of "a" Manuela? Just wondering if I'm correct that the "a" makes it more like a service than a present.

Asked 4 years ago
InmaKwiziq Head of Spanish, Native Spanish Teacher

Hola Gabor

I don't think there is a difference -I would say they mean the same. 

The other thing that comes to my mind is that you would use"para" instead of "a" to make absolutely clear that you are buying something for someone (that someone receives it); because comprar algo a alguien could also mean that you buy something "from/off" someone:

Compré unos pasteles a Rosa.

I bought some cake for Rosa or I bought some cakes from Rosa (maybe Rosa sells cakes) 

In this case, to make sure you mean for her, not from her, we'd use "para Rosa".

Saludos

Inma

Gabor E.B2Kwiziq Q&A regular contributor

Good to know, thank you Inma!

Gabor E. asked:

Vosotros quisisteis comprar flores a Manuela

Vosotros quisisteis comprar flores a Manuela.

Hi! In the above sentence, if the flowers were a present, would they buy them "para" instead of "a" Manuela? Just wondering if I'm correct that the "a" makes it more like a service than a present.

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