Escribir Preterite Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The preterite of escribir — to write — is the form you need for finished actions in the past. Escribir means to write: escribir una carta, escribir en español. It is regular in every tense — its only irregularity is the participle escrito. Escribir a is to write to someone; escribir sobre is to write about a topic. This page gives you the complete preterite table for escribir, how it is formed, when to use it, the mistakes learners make with it, and a quiz to check yourself. The first example shows it in action: “Ayer yo escribí una carta al director.” — “Yesterday I wrote a letter to the director”.

Preterite conjugation of escribir

Every form in the table below comes from VerbFlow’s verified conjugation tables for escribir. Escribir is an irregular -ir verb (irregular in past-participle, present-perfect, pluperfect, future-perfect, conditional-perfect), so watch out for the forms that break the pattern — they are the ones learners need to memorise.

Preterite indicative — escribir

Person Form
yo escribí
tú escribiste
él/ella/Ud. escribió
nosotros/as escribimos
vosotros/as escribisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. escribieron

The gerund of escribir is escribiendo and the past participle is escrito. The participle matters here because the preterite is often confused with the perfect tenses — keep them apart.

How the preterite of escribir is formed

The preterite of escribir does not follow the regular pattern. If escribir were regular, the preterite forms would be yo → escribí, tú → escribiste, él/ella/Ud. → escribió, nosotros/as → escribimos, vosotros/as → escribisteis, ellos/ellas/Uds. → escribieron — but escribir breaks the pattern in this tense: the forms are escribí, escribiste, escribió, escribimos, escribisteis and escribieron.

In the preterite, escribir is mostly regular: the first person is the expected escribí, and the endings attach to the stem escrib- in the usual way. The irregularity shows elsewhere in the verb — the participle or another tense is irregular — so the forms to memorise are the ones that break away, especially the third persons escribió and escribieron.

A note on spelling: the written accents in this tense are part of the form, not decoration. In the preterite, escribí, escribió carries an accent, and leaving it out changes the pronunciation and, in writing, marks the form as wrong. Copy the forms from the table above exactly, accents included.

When to use the preterite of escribir

1. Completed actions at a specific time

Use the preterite for an action that started and finished in the past. For example, with escribir: “Ayer yo escribí una carta al director.” — “Yesterday I wrote a letter to the director”. Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.

2. A sequence of actions

Use the preterite to list one finished action after another. For example, with escribir: “Ella escribió un poema precioso.” — “She wrote a beautiful poem”. Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.

3. Actions that interrupt an ongoing situation

Use the preterite for the action that breaks into a longer background scene. For example, with escribir: “Nosotros escribimos el informe en dos horas.” — “We wrote the report in two hours”. Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.

4. Sudden changes and achievements

Use the preterite for a change of state or something achieved at one moment. For example, with escribir: “Ellos escribieron un libro sobre la guerra.” — “They wrote a book about the war”. Notice how the time expression and the context, not just the verb form, tell you which rule applies.

Preterite vs imperfect: escribir finished, escribir in progress

The preterite and the imperfect are the two past tenses, and choosing between them is the hardest decision in Spanish past-tense grammar. The preterite is for what happened and finished; the imperfect is for what was happening, what used to happen, and the background. Compare the pairs below — the preterite form comes from this page, the imperfect form from the full conjugation table.

  • Preterite tense: “Ayer yo escribí una carta.” — “Yesterday I wrote a letter.”

  • Imperfect: “De niño, yo escribía una carta.” — “As a child, I used to write a letter.”

  • Preterite tense: “Ella escribió una carta a las ocho.” — “She wrote a letter at eight.”

  • Imperfect: “Ella escribía una carta cada día.” — “She used to write a letter every day.”

  • Preterite tense: “Nosotros escribimos una carta el sábado.” — “We wrote a letter on Saturday.”

  • Imperfect: “Nosotros escribíamos una carta todos los sábados.” — “We used to write a letter every Saturday.”

Example sentences: escribir in the preterite

Six sentences using only the preterite of escribir, with English translations. Read them aloud — saying the forms is the fastest way to fix them in memory.

  • “Ayer yo escribí una carta al director.” — “Yesterday I wrote a letter to the director.”
  • “Ella escribió un poema precioso.” — “She wrote a beautiful poem.”
  • “Nosotros escribimos el informe en dos horas.” — “We wrote the report in two hours.”
  • “Ellos escribieron un libro sobre la guerra.” — “They wrote a book about the war.”
  • “¿Tú escribiste el mensaje anoche?” — “Did you write the message last night?”
  • “El autor escribió su primera novela en 1990.” — “The author wrote his first novel in 1990.”

Common mistakes with escribir in the preterite

Mistake 1

Wrong: He escribido una carta — wrong participle.

Right: He escrito una carta.

The participle is escrito, not escribido.

Mistake 2

Wrong: Escribir a una carta — wrong preposition.

Right: Yo escribí una carta.

You write a letter (escribir una carta); you write to a person (escribir a María).

Mistake 3

Wrong: Leaving out the accent: writing the form without its written accent.

Right: Copy the accented form exactly: escribí.

In the preterite the accents are part of the spelling — escribí without its accent is a spelling mistake.

Quiz: escribir in the preterite

Eight questions on the preterite of escribir. Answers with explanations follow each question.

1. What is the yo form of escribir in the preterite?

  • A) escribí
  • B) escribiste
  • C) escribió
  • D) escribimos

Answer: A — The yo form in the preterite is escribí.

2. What is the tú form of escribir in the preterite?

  • A) escribí
  • B) escribió
  • C) escribimos
  • D) escribiste

Answer: D — The tú form in the preterite is escribiste.

3. What is the él/ella/Ud. form of escribir in the preterite?

  • A) escribiste
  • B) escribimos
  • C) escribió
  • D) escribí

Answer: C — The él/ella/Ud. form in the preterite is escribió.

4. What is the nosotros/as form of escribir in the preterite?

  • A) escribió
  • B) escribimos
  • C) escribí
  • D) escribiste

Answer: B — The nosotros/as form in the preterite is escribimos.

5. Fill in the blank: “Ayer yo ___ una carta al director.” (Yesterday I wrote a letter to the director.)

  • A) escribí
  • B) escribiste
  • C) escribió
  • D) escribimos

Answer: A — The sentence needs escribí.

6. Fill in the blank: “Ella ___ un poema precioso.” (She wrote a beautiful poem.)

  • A) escribí
  • B) escribiste
  • C) escribimos
  • D) escribió

Answer: D — The sentence needs escribió.

7. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) He escribido una carta — wrong participle.
  • B) He escrito una carta.

Answer: B — The participle is escrito, not escribido.

8. Which sentence is correct?

  • A) Yo escribí una carta.
  • B) Escribir a una carta — wrong preposition.

Answer: A — You write a letter (escribir una carta); you write to a person (escribir a María).

Frequently asked questions

Is escribir regular in the preterite?

No. escribir is irregular in the preterite: the forms are escribí, escribiste, escribió, escribimos, escribisteis and escribieron. There is no rule that produces them from the infinitive, so they have to be learnt as a set — the quiz above is a good place to start.

What is the yo form of escribir in the preterite?

It is escribí. The yo form is the one learners use most and the one that most often breaks the pattern — for escribir it is the form to learn first, before the rest of the table.

When do I use the preterite of escribir instead of the present?

Use the preterite when the action is finished and tied to a specific moment — yesterday, last week, at eight o’clock. If the action was ongoing, habitual, or just background to another event, the imperfect is the right choice, not the preterite.

How can I remember the preterite forms of escribir?

Say the six forms aloud in order — escribí, escribiste, escribió, escribimos, escribisteis, escribieron — three times a day for a week, always in a sentence, never as a bare list. Then use the Spanish Verb Quiz to test yourself, and the full conjugation page for escribir to see the verb in every tense.

Say it yourself

Reading is not enough — say the verb aloud before you move on. Use the forms from the tables on this page and answer these three prompts as full sentences. First, say a sentence about yourself in the present tense: “Yo escribo…”. Second, say a sentence about yesterday in the preterite: “Ayer yo escribí…”. Third, say a sentence about tomorrow in the future: “Mañana yo escribiré…”. If you can answer all three without looking at the tables, the forms are starting to stick. If you hesitate, go back to the examples above, read them aloud twice, and try again. Speaking the forms is what turns a table you have seen into a verb you can use.

Related pages