subió
/soo-BYOH/
went up
The character subió (went up) the stairs.
subió(verb)
went up
?physical movement
,climbed
?stairs, mountain
got into/onto
?vehicle or platform
📝 In Action
Él subió las escaleras muy rápido.
A1He went up the stairs very quickly.
¿Viste cómo subió al autobús?
A2Did you see how she got onto the bus?
Usted subió la maleta al ático ayer.
B1You (formal) carried the suitcase up to the attic yesterday.
💡 Grammar Points
The Accent Mark is Key
The accent on 'subió' is crucial! It tells you the action happened completely in the past (simple past tense, or Pretérito). Without it ('subio'), it would be an incorrect spelling.
Movement vs. Position
'Subió' describes the action of moving up. If you want to say where someone IS (position), you would use 'estaba arriba' (he/she was upstairs).
⭐ Usage Tips
Use 'a' for destinations
When talking about getting onto a vehicle or a platform, use the little word 'a': 'Subió al tren' (He got onto the train).
The amount of money subió (increased).
subió(verb)
increased
?price, amount
,rose
?temperature, volume
went up
?general context of rising value
,turned up
?volume
📝 In Action
El precio del petróleo subió dramáticamente anoche.
B1The price of oil increased dramatically last night.
La temperatura subió a 40 grados en pocas horas.
B1The temperature rose to 40 degrees in a few hours.
Ella subió el volumen de la música para escuchar mejor.
A2She turned up the volume of the music to hear better.
💡 Grammar Points
Using 'Subir' Causatively
When someone or something else causes the increase, you still use 'subió' if the subject is the thing that changed: 'El banco subió los intereses' (The bank raised the interest rates).
The file subió (was uploaded) to the cloud.
subió(verb)
uploaded
?file, photo, video
,posted
?social media content
put up
?general digital context
📝 In Action
Ella subió la foto a Instagram hace una hora.
B2She uploaded the photo to Instagram an hour ago.
Mi jefe subió el documento final a la nube.
B2My boss uploaded the final document to the cloud.
El canal de noticias subió el video completo del evento.
B2The news channel posted the full video of the event.
💡 Grammar Points
Modern Usage
This meaning is an example of how Spanish adapts to technology, using the simple concept of 'going up' to describe sending data to a server or the cloud.
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing 'Subir' and 'Cargar'
Mistake: "Usando 'cargó' para decir 'He uploaded a photo to Facebook'."
Correction: While 'cargar' means 'to load/upload,' 'subir' is far more natural and common for social media and general file sharing.
🔄 Conjugations
indicative
present
imperfect
preterite
subjunctive
present
imperfect
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: subió
Question 1 of 2
Which sentence uses 'subió' to talk about digital content?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between 'subió' and 'subía'?
'Subió' is the simple past (Pretérito) and means the action was completed once: 'He went up.' 'Subía' is the continuing past (Imperfecto) and means the action was repeated or ongoing: 'He used to go up' or 'He was going up' (when something else happened).
Who is the subject of the action in 'subió'?
'Subió' always refers to a single third person: 'él' (he), 'ella' (she), 'eso' (it, the price, the temperature), or 'usted' (you, formal).