mirar Preterite Conjugation
mirar — to look at
The preterite of mirar is regular: miré, miraste, miró, miramos, mirasteis, miraron.
mirar Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you looked at something once or for a specific, finished duration. It's perfect for saying you watched a specific movie or glanced at your watch.
Notes on mirar in the Preterite
Mirar is regular in the preterite. Just remember the accent marks on the 'yo' and 'él/ella/usted' forms to distinguish the tense.
Example Sentences
Miré el reloj y ya era muy tarde.
I looked at the clock and it was already very late.
yo
Él miró a su novia con mucho amor.
He looked at his girlfriend with a lot of love.
él/ella/usted
Ayer miramos una película de acción.
Yesterday we watched an action movie.
nosotros
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Confusing miramos (present) with miramos (preterite).
Correct: Use context clues like 'ayer' or 'ahora'.
Why: The nosotros form is identical in both tenses for -ar verbs.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: miro
The present tense of mirar is regular: miro, miras, mira, miramos, miráis, miran.
Imperfect
yo: miraba
The imperfect of mirar uses the regular -aba endings: miraba, mirabas, miraba, mirábamos, mirabais, miraban.
Future
yo: miraré
The future tense of mirar adds endings to the infinitive: miraré, mirarás, mirará, miraremos, miraréis, mirarán.
Conditional
yo: miraría
The conditional of mirar is regular: miraría, mirarías, miraría, miraríamos, miraríais, mirarían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: mire
The present subjunctive of mirar uses -e endings: mire, mires, mire, miremos, miréis, miren.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: mirara
The imperfect subjunctive of mirar is formed from the preterite stem: mirara, miraras, mirara, miráramos, mirarais, miraran.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: mira
The imperative of mirar provides commands: mira, mire, miremos, mirad, miren.
Negative Imperative
yo: no mires
The negative imperative of mirar uses subjunctive forms: no mires, no mire, no miremos, no miréis, no miren.