pedir Preterite Conjugation
pedir — to ask for
Pedir has a third-person stem change (e to i) in the preterite: pidió and pidieron.
pedir Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite when you specifically requested or ordered something at a definite point in time, like a meal at a restaurant or a favor yesterday.
Notes on pedir in the Preterite
Pedir is a 'slipper verb.' The stem changes from 'e' to 'i' only in the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) and plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Example Sentences
Pedí una ensalada para almorzar.
I ordered a salad for lunch.
yo
Ella pidió ayuda con la tarea.
She asked for help with the homework.
él/ella/usted
Ayer pedimos una pizza grande.
Yesterday we ordered a large pizza.
nosotros
Ellos pidieron permiso para salir.
They asked for permission to leave.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'pedió' or 'pederon'.
Correct: Use pidió and pidieron.
Why: Learners often forget the stem change from e to i in the third-person forms of -ir verbs.
Mistake: Confusing 'pedimos' with the present tense.
Correct: Context clues like 'ayer' (yesterday) are needed.
Why: The nosotros form is identical in both the present and preterite.
Master Spanish verbs in context
Memorizing tables only gets you so far. Read 200+ illustrated and narrated Spanish stories to see verbs like 'pedir' used naturally — in the tenses you're learning.
Related Tenses
Present
yo: pido
Pedir features an 'e to i' stem change in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: pedía
Pedir is regular in the imperfect: pedía, pedías, pedía, pedíamos, pedíais, pedían.
Future
yo: pediré
Pedir is regular in the future; simply add the endings to the infinitive: pediré, pedirás, etc.
Conditional
yo: pediría
The conditional of pedir is regular: pediría, pedirías, pediría, pediríamos, pediríais, pedirían.
Present Subjunctive
yo: pida
Pedir changes the stem to 'pid-' for all forms in the present subjunctive.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: pidiera
The imperfect subjunctive of pedir uses the stem 'pidie-': pidiera, pidieras, pidiera...
Affirmative Imperative
yo: pide
Use 'pide' for informal commands and 'pida' for formal ones.
Negative Imperative
yo: no pidas
Negative commands for pedir use the present subjunctive forms with 'no'.