querer Preterite Conjugation
querer — to want
The preterite of querer uses the irregular stem 'quis-' with endings like quise, quisiste, and quiso.
querer Preterite Forms
When to Use the Preterite
In the preterite, querer often changes meaning to 'tried' (affirmative) or 'refused' (negative). It describes a specific attempt or a reaction at a concrete moment in time.
Notes on querer in the Preterite
This is a 'strong' preterite. The stem changes from 'quer-' to 'quis-', and it uses special endings without accents (e, iste, o, imos, isteis, ieron).
Example Sentences
Quise llamarte, pero no tuve tiempo.
I tried to call you, but I didn't have time.
yo
Él no quiso comer la sopa.
He refused to eat the soup.
él/ella/usted
¿Quisiste decir eso de verdad?
Did you mean to say that for real?
tú
Quisieron entrar, pero la puerta estaba cerrada.
They tried to go in, but the door was locked.
ellos/ellas/ustedes
Common Mistakes
Mistake: Using 'querí' or 'querió'.
Correct: The forms are quise and quiso.
Why: Querer is highly irregular in the preterite; you cannot use the standard -er endings on the infinitive stem.
Mistake: Writing 'quisió' for the third person.
Correct: It is simply 'quiso'.
Why: Strong preterites like quiso do not take an 'i' before the 'o' and never have an accent on the last letter.
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Related Tenses
Present
yo: quiero
Querer is a stem-changing verb where the 'e' becomes 'ie' in all forms except nosotros and vosotros.
Imperfect
yo: quería
The imperfect of querer is regular: quería, querías, quería, queríamos, queríais, querían.
Future
yo: querré
The future tense of querer uses the irregular stem 'querr-' followed by standard future endings.
Conditional
yo: querría
The conditional uses the irregular stem 'querr-' with endings like querría, querrías, querría.
Present Subjunctive
yo: quiera
The present subjunctive follows the e > ie stem change: quiera, quieras, quiera, queramos, queráis, quieran.
Imperfect Subjunctive
yo: quisiera
The imperfect subjunctive uses the 'quis-' stem from the preterite: quisiera, quisieras, quisiera.
Affirmative Imperative
yo: quiere
The imperative of querer is rarely used, but follows the standard command forms: quiere, quiera, quered, quieran.
Negative Imperative
yo: no quieras
The negative imperative uses the present subjunctive: no quieras, no quiera, no queramos, no queráis, no quieran.