compraste
kohm-PRAHS-teh
Quick Reference
📝 In Action
¿Qué compraste en el mercado?
A1What did you buy at the market?
Compraste un coche muy bonito el mes pasado.
A2You bought a very nice car last month.
Dijiste que compraste entradas para el concierto.
B1You said that you bought tickets for the concert.
💡 Grammar Points
The 'Tú' Form
This word is used when you are speaking directly to one person whom you know well (friends, family, children). It means 'You' did the action.
Preterite Tense
The '-aste' ending tells you the action ('to buy') was completed and finished at a specific time in the past (yesterday, last week, an hour ago).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Mixing Past Tenses
Mistake: "Using 'comprabas' (imperfect) when you mean 'compraste' (preterite)."
Correction: Use 'compraste' for a single, finished purchase ('You bought the bread'). Use 'comprabas' only for habits or background descriptions ('You used to buy bread every day').
⭐ Usage Tips
No Need for 'Tú'
Since the '-aste' ending clearly points to 'tú,' you can often drop the pronoun 'tú' itself. Just saying 'Compraste' is enough.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: compraste
Question 1 of 2
Which English sentence correctly translates the meaning of 'compraste'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
Is 'compraste' used in Latin America or Spain?
'Compraste' (the tú form) is used everywhere Spanish is spoken. However, in some parts of Latin America, you might hear 'vos compraste' (using the 'vos' pronoun) instead of 'tú compraste'.
How do I ask 'Did you buy it?' using this word?
You can simply say '¿Lo compraste?' The word order is flexible, but placing the object pronoun ('lo' for 'it') before the verb is most common.