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SpanishConjugationPreterite

Querer (to want) · Preterite

By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated

Querer in the Spanish preterite (pretérito indefinido) is: yo quise, tú quisiste, él/ella/usted quiso, nosotros/as quisimos, vosotros/as quisisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes quisieron. The preterite of querer often means 'tried to' (or 'refused' in the negative). 'Quise abrir la puerta' = 'I tried to open the door (and either did or didn't)'. 'No quise hacerlo' = 'I refused to do it'. This meaning-shift is part of the verbs-that-change-in-the-preterite family.

querer conjugation in the Preterite (Pretérito indefinido)
To WantQuerer
I wanted
yo quise
you wanted
tú quisiste
he/she wanted
él/ella/usted quiso
we wanted
nosotros/as quisimos
you wanted
vosotros/as quisisteis
they wanted
ellos/ellas/ustedes quisieron
Examples

Querer (to want) in context

Sentences that use querer in the preterite. Tap each to hear it.

Quise llamarte ayer, pero olvidé el teléfono.

I tried to call you yesterday, but I forgot the phone.

Quisiste ayudar y eso es lo importante.

You wanted to help and that's what matters.

Mi padre no quiso venir a la fiesta.

My father refused to come to the party.

Quisimos sorprenderte con el regalo.

We wanted to surprise you with the gift.

Quisisteis llegar pronto, pero había tráfico.

You tried to arrive early, but there was traffic.

Los invitados no quisieron quedarse mucho.

The guests didn't want to stay long.

Tip

Working with the preterite

The preterite describes a finished past action with a clear boundary — "ayer comí pizza" (yesterday I ate pizza). The key contrast is with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions without a defined endpoint. If you can substitute "used to" or "was doing" in English, you usually want the imperfect; if the action is one-and-done, you want the preterite. The irregular preterites (fui, hice, dije, tuve, vine, supe) are the highest-frequency in Spanish — front-load them.

Questions

Frequently asked questions

How do you conjugate querer in the preterite?
The preterite of querer is: yo quise, tú quisiste, él/ella/usted quiso, nosotros/as quisimos, vosotros/as quisisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes quisieron. The stem switches to 'quis-' across all persons — part of the pretérito grave family alongside saber (supe), poder (pude), and tener (tuve).
Why does 'quise' mean 'I tried' instead of 'I wanted'?
Querer is one of the four classic meaning-shift preterite verbs: saber (found out), conocer (met), poder (managed to), querer (tried to / refused). The imperfect 'quería' keeps the static meaning ('I wanted'). The preterite 'quise' commits the want to action — 'I tried to make it happen'. In the negative, 'no quise' means 'I refused' (active rejection), not 'I didn't want' (passive absence).
How do I say 'I wanted' without the 'tried' implication?
Use the imperfect 'quería': 'Quería un café, pero no había' (I wanted a coffee, but there wasn't any). The imperfect describes the desire without committing to action. Use the preterite 'quise' only when you also want to convey that the want was acted on (or actively refused). For polite expressions of desire, the conditional 'quisiera' or 'querría' is even softer: 'Quisiera un café, por favor' (I would like a coffee, please).
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More tenses of Querer (To Want)

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Querer (to want) · Present
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Querer (to want) · Imperfect

More verbs in preterite

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Querer (to want)
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