Caer Preterite Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The preterite tense of caer — “to fall” in English — is the form you need for completed actions in the past: things that happened once and finished. This page gives you the full preterite conjugation table for caer 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. Caer means to fall, and it covers falling down, rain falling, leaves falling, prices falling and night falling. It is one of the most frequent irregular verbs in Spanish, with caigo in the present and cayó in the preterite, and it appears in idioms such as caer bien, to make a good impression. Caer is a irregular verb, so the notes below explain exactly where it follows the rules and where it breaks them. To see it in a real sentence: Ayer, caí de la escalera en casa.

Preterite tense conjugation table: caer

Every person of caer in the preterite tense. The gerund is cayendo and the past participle is caído.

Preterite indicative

Person Form
yo caí
tú caíste
él/ella/Ud. cayó
nosotros/as caímos
vosotros/as caísteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. cayeron

How the preterite of caer is formed

The preterite of caer is built from the stem ca- plus the preterite endings for -er verbs. Take the infinitive, drop the -er 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 caí
tú -iste caíste
él/ella/Ud. -ió cayó
nosotros/as -imos caímos
vosotros/as -isteis caísteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. -ieron cayeron

The preterite of caer keeps the stem ca- but inserts a y in the third person — cayó and cayeron — and the first and second persons carry an accent: caí, caíste, caímos and caísteis. The y is the part learners forget most often.

When to use the preterite tense with caer

One completed action

Use the preterite for an action that happened once and finished.

Ayer, Yo caí la lluvia sobre la ciudad. — Yesterday, I fell the rain on the city.

A sequence of events

Use the preterite for events in order, one after another.

Primero caí al suelo por el hielo, y luego cayó de la escalera en casa. — First I fell to the ground on the ice, and then he fell down the stairs at home.

An action that interrupts

Use the preterite for the action that interrupts a longer background action.

Mientras caía la lluvia sobre la ciudad, cayó las hojas en otoño. — While I used to fall the rain on the city, he fell the leaves in autumn.

Specific time expressions

Use the preterite with ayer, anoche, el año pasado and el lunes pasado.

El año pasado, Él/Ella cayó de la escalera en casa. — Last year, He fell down the stairs at home.

A sudden change

Use the preterite for a sudden change or a single event that stands out.

De repente, Nosotros/as caímos las hojas en otoño. — Suddenly, We fell the leaves in autumn.

The preterite vs the imperfect

The preterite and the imperfect answer different questions: the preterite says what happened once and finished, while the imperfect says what used to happen or what was going on in the background. Compare the same idea in both tenses with caer.

  1. Ayer, Yo caí al suelo por el hielo. — Yesterday, I fell to the ground on the ice. / De niño, Yo caía al suelo por el hielo. — As a child, I used to fall to the ground on the ice.
  2. Ayer, Yo caí de la escalera en casa. — Yesterday, I fell down the stairs at home. / De niño, Yo caía de la escalera en casa. — As a child, I used to fall down the stairs at home.
  3. Ayer, Yo caí la lluvia sobre la ciudad. — Yesterday, I fell the rain on the city. / De niño, Yo caía la lluvia sobre la ciudad. — As a child, I used to fall the rain on the city.

Example sentences in the preterite tense

Seven sentences with caer in the preterite tense only, covering all six persons.

  1. Yo caí al suelo por el hielo. — I fell to the ground on the ice.
  2. Tú caíste de la escalera en casa. — You fell down the stairs at home.
  3. Él/Ella cayó la lluvia sobre la ciudad. — He fell the rain on the city.
  4. Nosotros/as caímos las hojas en otoño. — We fell the leaves in autumn.
  5. Vosotros/as caísteis al suelo por el hielo. — You fell to the ground on the ice.
  6. Ellos/as cayeron de la escalera en casa. — They fell down the stairs at home.
  7. Yo caí la lluvia sobre la ciudad. — I fell the rain on the city.

Common mistakes

  1. Wrong: Yo cayó al suelo por el hielo. — Right: Yo caí al suelo por el hielo. — The person matters: cayó is the él/ella/Ud. form, while the yo form is caí.
  2. Wrong: Yo caió de la escalera en casa. — Right: Yo cayó de la escalera en casa. — Caer is irregular: the third-person preterite is cayó, with a y, never caió.
  3. Wrong: Using caer where caerse belongs. — Right: Caer means to fall, while caerse means to fall down yourself, the reflexive form. — Check the meaning before you choose: caer fits Caí al suelo por el hielo.
  4. Wrong: Yo caigo de la escalera en casa ayer. — Right: Yo caí de la escalera en casa ayer. — With ayer, the tense must be the preterite: caí, not the present caigo.

Quiz: the preterite tense of caer

Eight questions on the preterite tense of caer. Choose the right form, then check the answer key below.

  1. Complete the sentence: Yo ___ al suelo por el hielo. (preterite tense, yo) A. caí B. caíste C. cayó D. caímos

  2. Complete the sentence: Tú ___ de la escalera en casa. (preterite tense, tú) A. caí B. cayó C. caímos D. caíste

  3. Complete the sentence: Él/Ella ___ la lluvia sobre la ciudad. (preterite tense, él/ella/Ud.) A. caíste B. caímos C. cayó D. caí

  4. Complete the sentence: Nosotros/as ___ las hojas en otoño. (preterite tense, nosotros/as) A. cayó B. caímos C. caí D. caíste

  5. Complete the sentence: Vosotros/as ___ al suelo por el hielo. (preterite tense, vosotros/as) A. caísteis B. caí C. caíste D. cayó

  6. Complete the sentence: Ellos/as ___ de la escalera en casa. (preterite tense, ellos/ellas/Uds.) A. caí B. caíste C. cayó D. cayeron

  7. Which is the gerund of caer? A. caigo B. caí C. cayendo D. caído

  8. Which is the past participle of caer, used with haber in the perfect tenses? A. caí B. caído C. cayendo D. caigo

Answer key

  1. caí — The yo preterite form of caer is caí.
  2. caíste — The tú preterite form of caer is caíste.
  3. cayó — The él/ella/Ud. preterite form of caer is cayó.
  4. caímos — The nosotros/as preterite form of caer is caímos.
  5. caísteis — The vosotros/as preterite form of caer is caísteis.
  6. cayeron — The ellos/ellas/Uds. preterite form of caer is cayeron.
  7. cayendo — The gerund of caer is cayendo: estoy cayendo.
  8. caído — The past participle of caer is caído: he caído, has caído, ha caído.

Frequently asked questions

How is the preterite tense of caer formed?

Take the infinitive caer, drop the -er ending to get the stem ca-, then add the preterite endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. The full table is above, with every person. Yes, the preterite of caer is irregular: learn the forms in the table above rather than deriving them from the infinitive.

When do I use the preterite tense of caer?

Use the preterite for completed actions in the past, especially with ayer, anoche or el año pasado. For example: Ayer, caí de la escalera en casa.

What is the difference between the preterite and the imperfect of caer?

The preterite (caí) and the imperfect (caía) answer different questions: the preterite is for one finished action, while the imperfect is for habits and background in the past. Compare them in the contrast section above.

How do I practise the preterite of caer?

Drill the six forms in the table until you can say them without looking, then use the full conjugation of caer to see how the preterite fits with the other tenses, and the caer examples and quiz page for more sentences. The Spanish Verb Quiz tests the forms under pressure.

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