Adquirir Preterite Tense Conjugation in Spanish
The preterite tense of adquirir — "to acquire" in English — is the form you need for finished actions in the past, with a clear end. This page gives you the full preterite conjugation table for adquirir with all six persons, explains exactly how the tense is formed for this verb, shows when to use it with real examples, and finishes with a quiz so you can test yourself. Adquirir is a formal verb for acquiring something: a house, a skill, a habit, experience. Its present is irregular — adquiero, adquieres, adquiere — with the i becoming ie in the stressed forms. To see it in a real sentence: Yo adquirí una casa en el campo — "I acquired a house in the country".
Preterite tense conjugation table: adquirir
Every person of adquirir in the preterite tense. The gerund is adquiriendo and the past participle is adquirido.
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | adquirí |
| tú | adquiriste |
| él/ella/Ud. | adquirió |
| nosotros/as | adquirimos |
| vosotros/as | adquiristeis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | adquirieron |
How the preterite of adquirir is formed
The preterite of adquirir is built from the stem adquir- plus the preterite endings for -ir verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -ir ending, and add the ending that matches the person. The table below shows the endings, and the full table above shows them attached to the stem.
| Person | Ending | Form |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -í | adquirí |
| tú | -iste | adquiriste |
| él/ella/Ud. | -ió | adquirió |
| nosotros/as | -imos | adquirimos |
| vosotros/as | -isteis | adquiristeis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -ieron | adquirieron |
The stem vowel changes in the stressed forms of the present: adquiero, adquieres, adquiere and adquieren — but nosotros and vosotros keep the plain stem: adquirimos, adquirís. In the preterite the third-person forms change too: adquirió, adquirieron, and the gerund is adquiriendo.
The gerund of adquirir is adquiriendo and the past participle is adquirido. Both are the forms you need with estar and haber respectively.
When to use the preterite tense of adquirir
The preterite tense is not one single use — it covers several situations, and adquirir appears in all of them. The five uses below are the ones you will meet most often, each with an example that shows the verb in a natural sentence.
Finished actions
The preterite reports an action that is finished, with a clear end.
"Ayer, yo adquirí una casa en el campo" — "Yesterday, I acquired a house in the country"
Specific time markers
Use the preterite with ayer, anoche, el año pasado and la semana pasada.
"Anoche, él adquirió nuevas habilidades en el curso" — "Last night, he acquired new skills on the course"
Sequences of events
Use the preterite to list events in order, one after another.
"Primero, nosotros adquirimos el hábito de leer" — "First, we acquired the habit of reading"
Sudden changes
The preterite is the tense for a sudden change or a single moment.
"De repente, yo adquirí una empresa pequeña" — "Suddenly, I acquired a small company"
Actions with a definite beginning and end
Use the preterite when the action lasted a known, finished time.
"El año pasado, ellos adquirieron experiencia en el extranjero" — "Last year, they acquired experience abroad"
The preterite tense vs the closest tenses
Preterite — one finished action vs Imperfect — a past habit or background
The preterite reports one finished action in the past. The imperfect describes a repeated habit or an ongoing background in the past. If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice; if it happened once, on a specific day, use the preterite.
- Preterite — one finished action: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}yo adquirí una casa en el campo — "I acquired a house in the country"
- Imperfect — a past habit or background: {'pre_es': 'Antes, ', 'pre_en': 'Before, '}yo adquiría una casa en el campo — "I used to acquire a house in the country"
Preterite — finished vs Present perfect — just happened
The preterite places the action firmly in the finished past. The present perfect connects it to the present — something that has just happened, or that matters now. Hoy and esta semana often go with the present perfect.
- Preterite — finished: {'pre_es': 'Ayer, ', 'pre_en': 'Yesterday, '}él adquirió nuevas habilidades en el curso — "He acquired new skills on the course"
- Present perfect — just happened: {'pre_es': 'Hoy, ', 'pre_en': 'Today, '}él ha adquirido nuevas habilidades en el curso — "He has acquired new skills on the course"
Preterite — then vs Present — now
The preterite talks about then, the present talks about now. The same verb, the same complement — only the tense moves the action in time.
- Preterite — then: {'pre_es': 'El año pasado, ', 'pre_en': 'Last year, '}ellos adquirieron el hábito de leer — "They acquired the habit of reading"
- Present — now: {'pre_es': 'Ahora, ', 'pre_en': 'Now, '}ellos adquieren el hábito de leer — "They acquire the habit of reading"
Examples: adquirir in the preterite tense
Seven sentences that show adquirir in the preterite tense only, across all six persons. Read each one aloud, notice the ending, and check the translation.
- Yo adquirí una casa en el campo — "I acquired a house in the country"
- Tú adquiriste nuevas habilidades en el curso — "You acquired new skills on the course"
- Él adquirió el hábito de leer — "He acquired the habit of reading"
- Nosotros adquirimos una empresa pequeña — "We acquired a small company"
- Vosotros adquiristeis experiencia en el extranjero — "You acquired experience abroad"
- Ellos adquirieron una casa en el campo — "They acquired a house in the country"
- Yo adquirí nuevas habilidades en el curso — "I acquired new skills on the course"
Common mistakes with adquirir in the preterite tense
These are the errors learners actually make with adquirir in the preterite tense. Each one shows the wrong form, the right form, and why the right form is right.
✗ *Ayer, yo adquiri una casa en el campo.
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo adquirí una casa en el campo.
The preterite yo form carries a written accent: adquirí, not adquiri.
✗ *Tú adquirió nuevas habilidades en el curso.
✓ Correct: Tú adquiriste nuevas habilidades en el curso.
The tú preterite ends in -ste and the él preterite in -ó/-ió: tú adquiriste, él adquirió.
✗ *Ayer, yo adquiría el hábito de leer
✓ Correct: Ayer, yo adquirí el hábito de leer
Ayer points to one finished action, so it needs the preterite, not the imperfect.
✗ *Yo adquiero en una empresa pequeña.
✓ Correct: Yo adquiero una empresa pequeña.
adquirir takes this complement directly, with no preposition: Yo adquiero una empresa pequeña.
Quiz: adquirir in the preterite tense
Eight questions on the preterite tense of adquirir. Choose the best answer for each one, then check the answer key below — every answer is explained.
Which is the correct preterite form of adquirir for tú? A. adquiriste B. adquirí C. adquirió D. adquirimos
Complete the sentence: Yo ______ una casa en el campo — "I acquired a house in the country" (preterite) A. adquirí B. adquiriste C. adquirió D. adquirimos
Complete the sentence: Él ______ nuevas habilidades en el curso — "He acquired new skills on the course" (preterite) A. adquirimos B. adquirió C. adquirí D. adquiriste
Which is the correct preterite form of adquirir for nosotros? A. adquiriste B. adquirió C. adquirieron D. adquirimos
Which sentence uses adquirir correctly in the preterite? A. Mi amigo adquirimos el hábito de leer B. Mi amigo adquirió el hábito de leer C. Mi amigo adquiriste el hábito de leer D. Mi amigo adquiere el hábito de leer
Complete the sentence: Vosotros ______ una empresa pequeña — "You acquired a small company" (preterite) A. adquiriste B. adquirió C. adquiristeis D. adquirí
Complete the sentence: Ellos ______ experiencia en el extranjero — "They acquired experience abroad" (preterite) A. adquirió B. adquirieron C. adquirí D. adquiriste
What is the past participle of adquirir? A. adquirí B. adquirido C. adquiriendo D. adquiero
Answer key
- adquiriste — The tú form in the preterite is adquiriste.
- adquirí — The preterite form for yo is adquirí.
- adquirió — The preterite form for él/ella/Ud. is adquirió.
- adquirimos — The nosotros form in the preterite is adquirimos.
- Mi amigo adquirió el hábito de leer — Mi amigo adquirió el hábito de leer is correct: the verb agrees with its subject and the tense is the preterite.
- adquiristeis — The preterite form for vosotros/as is adquiristeis.
- adquirieron — The preterite form for ellos/ellas/Uds. is adquirieron.
- adquirido — The past participle is adquirido. It is the form you use with haber for the perfect tenses, and it is not the gerund adquiriendo.
Frequently asked questions
Is adquirir regular in the preterite tense?
Mostly. In the preterite the stem changes in the third person: adquirió, adquirieron. The other persons follow the regular endings.
What is the gerund and the past participle of adquirir?
The gerund is adquiriendo and the past participle is adquirido. Use the gerund with estar for the progressive, and the participle with haber for the perfect tenses.
How do you say "I acquire" in the preterite tense?
Say adquirí. For example: Yo adquirí una casa en el campo — "I acquired a house in the country".
What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of adquirir?
The preterite reports one finished action: Ayer, yo adquirí una casa en el campo — "Yesterday, I acquired a house in the country". The imperfect describes a repeated habit or background: Antes, yo adquiría una casa en el campo — "Before, I used to acquire a house in the country". If you can add "used to" in English, the imperfect is usually the right choice.
Related links
- Full conjugation of adquirir — every tense and mood, with the complete tables.
- adquirir examples and quiz — more sentences, dialogues and a longer quiz.
- Spanish Preterite tense guide — how the preterite tense works for all Spanish verbs.
- Spanish verbs — the full list of Spanish verbs on VerbFlow.