Spanish Verbs: Pedir Preterite Conjugation Explained

Pedir Present Tense Conjugation

Here we have the verb chart for the present indicative tense. We’ll start off easy for you. Pay attention to the fact that in the indicative mood, the Spanish verb pedir is irregular in just about every conjugation form.

Our lovely friend pedir follows the classic boot-verb irregular conjugation style. This means that everything except for Nosotros and Vosotros is irregular. In this case, the E will change to an I in the present tense.

Pedir Preterite Tense Conjugation

With that quick review out of the way, let’s move on to the fun part – the pedir conjugation in the preterite tense.

So while most irregular verbs have a ton of changes in the preterite, the verb pedir is a bit more subtle with its irregularities. 

The only changes that are present are in the third person. So while you say tú pediste, it changes to él pidió.

This is just proof that you always need to be on the lookout when it comes to Spanish conjugation! 

Past Subjunctive Mood

Before we move on to the uses of pedir, we should do a quick review of the past subjunctive.  There’s a clear connection between the pretérito perfecto simple and the past subjunctive. 

Since the preterite tense and the subjunctive share a similar root, the best thing to do is to practice both at the same time

Now that we’re already here, let’s take the opportunity real quick to try and memorize the past subjunctive conjugation. Even if you aren’t comfortable using the subjunctive just yet, you’ll be one step ahead if you work on the conjugation chart now. 

Do you notice any obvious patterns here? All past subjunctive forms have the same base as the third person for the preterite tense. 

So since we say él / ella pidió, we use that same pid root to conjugate pedir in the past subjunctive. 

The great news is that by learning this rule for one conjugation, you’re learning an essential truth for all Spanish verbs. With one small step, you’re taking a big dive into Spanish grammar. 

How to use Pedir in the preterite tense

Now let’s get on to the good stuff. Let’s practice specific ways to use the verb pedir in the preterite tense. In general, pedir can mean two things – to ask for and to request. But we’re going to see that you can use this in situations you might not have expected. 

Let’s look at some examples for both of those meanings in a bit more detail. 

Ask for

The most obvious usage of the irregular verb pedir is “to ask for”. Not for questions, but for requests. Here are a few common examples:

• Tú pediste que dejara de hacer eso – To asked him to stop doing that 
• El año pasado les pedimos a mis padres que cuidaran de mi gato mientras estábamos de viaje – Last year we asked my parents if they could take care of my cat while we were on vacation.

As you can see here, we’re asking for something, not asking a question.