Romper Preterite Tense Conjugation in Spanish

The Spanish verb romper means to break, and this page covers it in the preterite tense — the tense for actions that started and finished in the past. If you want the whole picture, start with the full romper conjugation, which has every tense on one page. Here we go deep on one tense only: the full table, how it is formed, when to use it, how it differs from the closest tense, examples, the mistakes learners actually make, a quiz and answers to the questions people ask most. One example to start: Yo rompí el vaso. — "I broke the glass."

No pronunciation is given on this page: the verified tables do not include IPA for romper, so no pronunciation is shown rather than an invented one. All the forms below come from the verified conjugation tables, so you can trust every form you see here.

The romper preterite tense table

Every form below comes from the verified conjugation tables for romper. The gerund is rompiendo and the past participle is roto.

Person Form
yo rompí
tú rompiste
él/ella/Ud. rompió
nosotros/as rompimos
vosotros/as rompisteis
ellos/ellas/Uds. rompieron

The gerund rompiendo is used with estar for the progressive (estoy rompiendo, I am breaking), and the past participle roto is used with haber for the perfect tenses (he roto, I have broke).

How the preterite tense of romper is formed

Start with the infinitive romper. Take off the -er ending and you are left with the stem romp-. Then add the preterite endings for -er verbs: -í (yo), -iste (tú), -ió (él/ella/Ud.), -imos (nosotros/as), -isteis (vosotros/as) and -ieron (ellos/ellas/Uds.). The preterite endings are stressed, which is why most of them carry a written accent: rompí, rompió, rompieron.

romper is regular in the preterite: every form is exactly the stem plus the ending above, with no stem change and no spelling change. If you know the stem and the six endings, you can build the whole tense without memorising anything extra.

When to use the preterite tense of romper

A completed action

The preterite is the tense of actions that started and finished. Talking about breaking something by accident: a glass, a plate, a vase, a window.

  • Yo rompí el vaso. — "I broke the glass."
  • Tú rompiste la ventana. — "you broke the window."

A sequence of actions

When several things happened one after another, the preterite carries the story forward. Talking about breaking something with a ball or while playing.

  • Él rompió un plato. — "he/she broke a plate."
  • Nosotros rompimos el jarrón. — "we broke the vase."

An action at a specific time

The preterite pairs naturally with time expressions that pin an action down: ayer, anoche, el año pasado, la semana pasada. Talking about breaking a promise, a rule or a record, the figurative uses of romper.

  • Vosotros rompisteis sin querer. — "you (all) broke by accident."
  • Ellos rompieron con una pelota. — "they broke with a ball."

A sudden change or interruption

The preterite also marks a sudden change or an action that interrupted something else. It is the tense that moves a story from one event to the next.

  • Él rompió un plato. — "he/she broke a plate."
  • Nosotros rompimos el jarrón. — "we broke the vase."

Romper preterite vs imperfect

The preterite and the imperfect are the two past tenses, and choosing between them is one of the biggest challenges in Spanish. The preterite is for a single finished action. The imperfect is for a repeated, habitual or background action, with no clear end. Compare the three pairs below: the first sentence in each pair is one finished event, the second is a habit from the past.

  • Preterite (one finished action): Yo rompí ayer el vaso. — "I broke the glass yesterday."

  • Imperfect (a habit): De niño, yo rompía el vaso. — "I used to break the glass as a child."

  • Preterite (one finished action): Tú rompiste anoche la ventana. — "you broke the window last night."

  • Imperfect (a habit): Todos los días, tú rompías la ventana. — "you used to break the window every day."

  • Preterite (one finished action): Él rompió la semana pasada un plato. — "he/she broke a plate last week."

  • Imperfect (a habit): Cuando era joven, él rompía un plato. — "he/she used to break a plate when I was young."

A useful rule: if you can add "yesterday" or "last night" and the sentence still makes sense, you probably want the preterite. If you can add "used to" or "every day back then", you probably want the imperfect. For more practice with this choice, try the preterite vs imperfect tool.

Examples of romper in the preterite

Eight sentences in the preterite tense, so you can see the forms in real use. Read the Spanish first, guess the meaning, then check the translation.

  1. Ayer rompí el vaso sin querer. — "Yesterday I broke the glass by accident."
  2. Mi hijo rompió la ventana con una pelota. — "My son broke the window with a ball."
  3. Anoche rompimos un plato en la cocina. — "Last night we broke a plate in the kitchen."
  4. De niño, rompía los juguetes con frecuencia. — "As a child, I used to break toys often."
  5. Mañana romperé el récord de la escuela. — "Tomorrow I will break the school record."
  6. Si no tuviera cuidado, rompería otro vaso. — "If I were not careful, I would break another glass."
  7. Él rompió sin querer. — "he/she broke by accident."
  8. Nosotros rompimos con una pelota. — "we broke with a ball."

Common mistakes with romper in the preterite

These are the errors learners actually make with this verb. Each one shows the wrong version, the right version, and why it is wrong.

1. Ayer yo rompo el vaso.

Wrong: Ayer yo rompo el vaso.

Right: Ayer yo rompí el vaso.

A finished action yesterday needs the preterite: rompí. Rompo is the present tense.

2. He rompido el vaso.

Wrong: He rompido el vaso.

Right: He roto el vaso.

Romper has an irregular past participle: roto, not rompido. The present perfect is he roto, has roto, ha roto.

3. Using rompido as the past participle

Wrong: He rompido el vaso.

Right: He roto el vaso.

Romper has an irregular past participle, roto. The present perfect is he roto, has roto, ha roto — never rompido.

4. Using the imperfect for a single finished action

Wrong: Ayer yo rompía el vaso.

Right: Ayer yo rompí el vaso.

Ayer points to one finished action, so the preterite is right: rompí. The imperfect rompía would describe a repeated or background action, not a single completed event.

Quiz: test yourself on romper in the preterite

Choose the right form for each sentence. The answers are at the end of this section, with an explanation for every question.

  1. Yo ___ el vaso
    • a) rompí
    • b) rompiste
    • c) rompió
    • d) rompimos
  2. Tú ___ la ventana
    • a) rompí
    • b) rompió
    • c) rompimos
    • d) rompiste
  3. Él ___ un plato
    • a) rompiste
    • b) rompimos
    • c) rompió
    • d) rompí
  4. Nosotros ___ el jarrón
    • a) rompió
    • b) rompimos
    • c) rompí
    • d) rompiste
  5. Vosotros ___ sin querer
    • a) rompisteis
    • b) rompí
    • c) rompiste
    • d) rompió
  6. Ellos ___ con una pelota
    • a) rompí
    • b) rompiste
    • c) rompió
    • d) rompieron
  7. Yo ___ el vaso
    • a) rompió
    • b) rompimos
    • c) rompí
    • d) rompiste
  8. Tú ___ la ventana
    • a) rompimos
    • b) rompiste
    • c) rompí
    • d) rompió

Answers

  1. a) rompí — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  2. d) rompiste — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.
  3. c) rompió — The sentence needs the él/ella/Ud. form, because the subject is él/ella/Ud..
  4. b) rompimos — The sentence needs the nosotros/as form, because the subject is nosotros/as.
  5. a) rompisteis — The sentence needs the vosotros/as form, because the subject is vosotros/as.
  6. d) rompieron — The sentence needs the ellos/ellas/Uds. form, because the subject is ellos/ellas/Uds..
  7. c) rompí — The sentence needs the yo form, because the subject is yo.
  8. b) rompiste — The sentence needs the tú form, because the subject is tú.

Frequently asked questions about romper in the preterite

Is the preterite of romper regular?

Yes. The preterite is regular: rompí, rompiste, rompió, rompimos, rompisteis, rompieron. The irregularity is in the past participle, roto.

Why is it he roto and not he rompido?

Romper is one of the few Spanish verbs with an irregular past participle. The participle is roto, so the present perfect is he roto, and the passive is está roto.

Is romper regular in the preterite?

Yes. romper is regular in the preterite: the six forms are the stem romp- plus the regular endings, with no stem change. The only thing to watch is the written accent on the stressed endings, for example rompí.

What are the gerund and the past participle of romper?

The gerund is rompiendo, used with estar for the progressive (estoy rompiendo), and the past participle is roto, used with haber for the perfect tenses (he roto).

How to remember romper

Four small habits will fix romper in your memory. First, say the present tense out loud, in order, three times: rompo, rompes, rompe, rompemos, rompéis, rompen. Saying the forms is far more effective than reading them silently, because you hear the endings and the stem at the same time. Second, write three sentences about your own life: one about today with the present (rompo), one about yesterday with the preterite (rompí), and one about tomorrow with the future (romperé). Personal sentences stick because they are about you, not about a textbook. Third, remember the difference from arreglar: Romper is breaking something; arreglar is fixing it. You rompes el vaso and luego lo arreglas — if it can be fixed at all. Finally, learn the two key forms by heart: the gerund rompiendo and the past participle roto. With those two and the present tense, you can already build the progressive (estoy rompiendo) and the present perfect (he roto), which covers most everyday conversation.

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