Introduction
Abrir means “to open”, and this page covers exactly one thing: abrir in the preterite tense. The preterite is the tense Spanish speakers reach for when they talk about what is finished and done. On this page you will find the full preterite table for abrir, how the tense is formed for this verb, the situations where it is used, how it differs from the imperfect, worked examples, the mistakes learners make most often, an eight-question quiz with explained answers, and answers to the questions students ask about abrir in the preterite. Abrir in the preterite describes one finished opening: a window you opened this morning, a door you opened yesterday. The action is done, and the tense says so. For example: “Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana.” — I opened the window this morning. Everything on this page uses the forms of abrir exactly as they are conjugated in the preterite, so you can trust every form you see here.
Abrir in the Preterite Tense — full table
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | abrí |
| tú | abriste |
| él/ella/Ud. | abrió |
| nosotros/as | abrimos |
| vosotros/as | abristeis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | abrieron |
Gerund: abriendo · Past participle: abierto
The gerund is abriendo, which you use with estar to say what is happening right now: “Estoy abriendo” means the action of abrir is in progress at this very moment. The past participle is abierto, which you use with haber in the perfect tenses: “he abierto” is the present perfect, used for a completed action. Keep both forms in mind as you read the examples below, because the preterite is only one part of how abrir is used.
How the preterite of abrir is formed
Abrir is regular in the preterite. Take the stem abr and add the preterite endings for -ir verbs: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron, giving abrí, abriste, abrió, abrimos, abristeis and abrieron. Watch the accents: yo takes an accent on the í (abrí) and él takes one on the ó (abrió). Note that the nosotros form, abrimos, is identical to the present-tense nosotros form — only context tells you which tense is meant. The irregularity of abrir is in its past participle, abierto, not in the preterite, so the table above is fully regular.
The preterite of abrir is fully regular, but two details deserve attention. First, the accents: abrí carries an accent on the í, and abrió carries one on the ó, because the stress falls on the ending rather than the stem. Second, the nosotros form abrimos is identical to the present-tense nosotros form, so only the surrounding words tell you which tense is meant. The real irregularity of abrir is its past participle, abierto, which you need for the perfect tenses: he abierto, has abierto, ha abierto.
When to use the preterite of abrir
The preterite is not a single-purpose tense. Below are the five situations where you will use abrir in the preterite most often. Each one comes with a real example, so read the rule, then say the example out loud.
1. Opening something this morning
Abrir in the preterite describes one finished opening: a window you opened this morning, a door you opened yesterday. The action is done, and the tense says so. Example: “Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana.” — I opened the window this morning.
2. A shop opening for the day
When a shop opened at a specific time, the preterite is the right tense. It reports one moment in a finished day, not a routine. Example: “La tienda abrió a las nueve.” — The shop opened at nine.
3. Opening something new
Opening an account or a present is a single event, and the preterite counts it as one. The tense moves the story forward to what happened next. Example: “Nosotros abrimos una cuenta nueva ayer.” — We opened a new account yesterday.
4. A finished event in a finished time frame
The preterite is the tense of completed actions. When the action started and ended inside a finished period of time — ayer, anoche, la semana pasada, en 2019 — the preterite is the right choice, and abrir follows the same rule. Example: “Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana.” — I opened the window this morning.
5. Moving a story forward
In a narrative, the preterite moves the story from one event to the next. Each preterite form is one step forward in time, which is why stories told in the past are built mostly from preterite verbs, with the imperfect used only for background. Example: “Nosotros abrimos una cuenta nueva ayer.” — We opened a new account yesterday.
Preterite Tense vs Imperfect: how to choose
The closest tense to the preterite is the imperfect, and choosing between them is one of the hardest decisions in Spanish. The rule is simple: the preterite reports one finished action, while the imperfect describes background, habits in the past, or an action that was in progress when something else happened. The three pairs below use the same verb, so the only thing that changes is whether the action is finished and counted, or ongoing and descriptive. Time words help: ayer and de repente point to the preterite, while mientras and todos los días in the past point to the imperfect.
Preterite Tense: “Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana.” — I opened the window this morning.
Imperfect: “Yo abría la ventana cada mañana.” — I used to open the window every morning.
The preterite sentence reports one finished opening; the imperfect sentence describes a habit in the past. Esta mañana points to the preterite, cada mañana in the past points to the imperfect.
Preterite Tense: “La tienda abrió a las nueve ayer.” — The shop opened at nine yesterday.
Imperfect: “La tienda abría a las nueve todos los días.” — The shop used to open at nine every day.
Ayer names one finished day, so the preterite is right; todos los días in the past describes a routine, so the imperfect is right.
Preterite Tense: “Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana.” — I opened the window this morning.
Imperfect: “Yo abría la ventana esta mañana.” — the same action, but as background or a habit in the past rather than one finished event.
The preterite sentence counts one finished action; the imperfect sentence describes how things used to be. That difference — finished event versus background — is the whole decision.
Example sentences: abrir in the preterite
Read these eight sentences out loud. They cover all six persons, so by the end you will have seen every form in the table used in a real sentence. Pay attention to the words around the verb — the time expressions, the objects, the other verbs — because those are what make each sentence sound natural.
“Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana.” — I opened the window this morning.
“¿Tú abriste la puerta?” — Did you open the door?
“La tienda abrió a las nueve.” — The shop opened at nine.
“Nosotros abrimos una cuenta nueva ayer.” — We opened a new account yesterday.
“Vosotros abristeis las ventanas.” — You opened the windows.
“Ellos abrieron el libro por la primera página.” — They opened the book at the first page.
“Yo abrí el regalo con cuidado.” — I opened the present carefully.
“Mi padre abrió la puerta del garaje.” — My father opened the garage door.
Common mistakes with abrir in the preterite
These are the errors learners actually make with this verb in this tense. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why the correction matters.
Wrong: “Yo abrí la ventana con la llave.” Right: “Yo abrí la ventana.” Why: Abrir takes a direct object with no preposition: abro la ventana. The key belongs to a different structure: 'Abro la puerta con la llave' is correct, because con describes the tool, but the window itself needs no preposition.
Wrong: “Ellos abrió el libro.” Right: “Ellos abrieron el libro.” Why: Ellos needs the ellos form abren. The singular abre belongs with él, ella or a singular noun such as la tienda.
Wrong: “Yo abrí la ventana ayer.” Right: “Ayer yo abrí la ventana.” Why: The present tense cannot describe a finished action yesterday. Ayer forces the preterite, so the form must change to abrí, with an accent on the í.
Wrong: “Nosotros abriste una cuenta.” Right: “Nosotros abrimos una cuenta.” Why: Nosotros needs abrimos. The tú form abres belongs with tú.
Quiz: abrir in the preterite
Choose the correct answer for each question, then check the answer key. Every answer is explained, so a wrong answer still teaches you something.
1. Complete the sentence: “Yo ______ la ventana esta mañana.” (I opened the window this morning.)
- (a) abriste
- (b) abrió
- (c) abrí
Answer: abrí — The yo form of abrir in the preterite is abrí. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
2. Complete the sentence: “¿Tú ______ la puerta?” (Did you open the door?)
- (a) abrió
- (b) abriste
- (c) abrí
Answer: abriste — The tú form of abrir in the preterite is abriste. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
3. Complete the sentence: “La tienda ______ a las nueve.” (The shop opened at nine.)
- (a) abrió
- (b) abrí
- (c) abriste
Answer: abrió — The él/ella/Ud. form of abrir in the preterite is abrió. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
4. Complete the sentence: “Nosotros ______ una cuenta nueva ayer.” (We opened a new account yesterday.)
- (a) abrí
- (b) abriste
- (c) abrimos
Answer: abrimos — The nosotros/as form of abrir in the preterite is abrimos. The other options are the forms for different persons, so they do not agree with the subject.
5. What is the vosotros/as form of abrir in the preterite?
- (a) abriste
- (b) abristeis
- (c) abrí
Answer: abristeis — From the table above: vosotros/as takes abristeis. Say it with the example sentence “Vosotros abristeis las ventanas.” to fix it in your memory.
6. Complete the sentence: “Ellos ______ el libro por la primera página.” (They opened the book at the first page.)
- (a) abrí
- (b) abriste
- (c) abrieron
Answer: abrieron — The subject needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, which is abrieron.
7. Which is the correct yo form of abrir in the preterite?
- (a) abrí
- (b) abrió
- (c) abrieron
Answer: abrí — The yo form is abrí. The other two options are the él/ella and ellos/ellas forms.
8. Which sentence describes one finished action in the past?
- (a) Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana.
- (b) Yo abría la ventana cada mañana.
- (c) Nosotros abriremos una cuenta nueva mañana.
Answer: Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana. — “Yo abrí la ventana esta mañana.” reports a single completed event, so it takes the preterite. The second option describes background or a past habit, and the third looks to the future.
Frequently asked questions
Is abrir regular in the preterite?
Yes. Abrir is regular in the preterite: abrí, abriste, abrió, abrimos, abristeis, abrieron. Watch the accents on abrí and abrió, and remember that the nosotros form abrimos is identical to the present-tense nosotros form, so only context tells them apart.
What is the past participle of abrir?
The past participle is abierto, not abrido: 'He abierto la puerta' means 'I have opened the door'. It is one of the few irregular participles in Spanish, so learn it as an exception. The gerund is regular: abriendo.
Does abrir take a preposition before what you open?
No. What you open is the direct object: 'Abro la ventana', 'Abro el libro'. Use con for a tool ('Abro con la llave') and a for a time ('La tienda abre a las nueve').
Related pages
- Full conjugation of abrir — every tense of abrir in one place.
- Abrir examples and quiz — more sentences with abrir and a ten-question quiz.
- Spanish preterite guide — how the preterite works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the hub for every Spanish verb on VerbFlow.
- Present tense conjugator — conjugate any verb in the preterite instantly.
- Verb quiz — test yourself on abrir and other verbs.