Help Someone Move in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to help someone move in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• use common vocabulary related to moving

• discuss the moving process in the past

• use the preterite to talk about a sequence of events

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Adverb

Spanish	English
anteayer	the day before yesterday

examples
Mis primos se mudaron anteayer. My cousins moved the day before yesterday.

Adverbial Phrase

Spanish	English
más tarde	later

examples
Más tarde, compraron cajas. Later, they bought boxes.

Nouns

Spanish	English
el camión	truck
el carrito	cart
la cerámica	ceramics
el esfuerzo	effort, a lot of work
el mueble	furniture
el objeto	object

examples
Yo empaqué los objetos delicados. I packed all the delicate objects.
Primero, el camión llegó. First, the truck arrived.
Después, metieron los muebles. Afterward, they loaded the furniture.

Noun Phrases

Spanish	English
la compañía de mudanza	moving company
la semana anterior	last week

examples
Luego, decidieron la compañía de mudanza. Then, they decided on the moving company.
La semana anterior, empacaron. Last week, they packed.

Prepositional Phrases

Spanish	English
por la mañana	in the morning
por la noche	at night

examples
Empezaron la mudanza por la mañana. They started the move in the morning.
Terminaron la mudanza por la noche. The finished the move at night.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Ayudar

Ayudar(to help) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	ayudé	I helped
tú	ayudaste	you helped	informal singular you
vos	ayudaste	you helped	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	ayudó	he, she helped
usted	ayudó	you helped	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	ayudamos	we helped
vosotros, vosotras	ayudasteis	you helped	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	ayudaron	they helped
ustedes	ayudaron	you helped	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Comprar

Comprar(to buy) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	compré	I bought
tú	compraste	you bought	informal singular you
vos	compraste	you bought	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	compró	he, she bought
usted	compró	you bought	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	compramos	we bought
vosotros, vosotras	comprasteis	you bought	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	compraron	they bought
ustedes	compraron	you bought	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Contratar

Contratar(to hire) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	contraté	I hired
tú	contrataste	you hired	informal singular you
vos	contrataste	you hired	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	contrató	he, she hired
usted	contrató	you hired	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	contratamos	we hired
vosotros, vosotras	contratasteis	you hired	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	contrataron	they hired
ustedes	contrataron	you hired	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Decidir

Decidir(to decide) is an -ir verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	decidí	I decided
tú	decidiste	you decided	informal singular you
vos	decidiste	you decided	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	decidió	he, she decided
usted	decidió	you decided	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	decidimos	we decided
vosotros, vosotras	decidisteis	you decided	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	decidieron	they decided
ustedes	decidieron	you decided	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Empacar

Empacar(to pack) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	empaqué	I packed
tú	empacaste	you packed	informal singular you
vos	empacaste	you packed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	empacó	he, she packed
usted	empacó	you packed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	empacamos	we packed
vosotros, vosotras	empacasteis	you packed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	empacaron	they packed
ustedes	empacaron	you packed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Empezar

Empezar(to start) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	empecé	I started
tú	empezaste	you started	informal singular you
vos	empezaste	you started	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	empezó	he, she started
usted	empezó	you started	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	empezamos	we started
vosotros, vosotras	empezasteis	you started	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	empezaron	they started
ustedes	empezaron	you started	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Enfadarse

Enfadarse(to get upset) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me enfadé	I got upset
tú	te enfadaste	you got upset	informal singular you
vos	te enfadaste	you got upset	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se enfadó	he, she got upset
usted	se enfadó	you got upset	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos enfadamos	we got upset
vosotros, vosotras	os enfadasteis	you got upset	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se enfadaron	they got upset
ustedes	se enfadaron	you got upset	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Envolver

Envolver(to wrap) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	envolví	I wrapped
tú	envolviste	you wrapped	informal singular you
vos	envolviste	you wrapped	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	envolvió	he, she wrapped
usted	envolvió	you wrapped	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	envolvimos	we wrapped
vosotros, vosotras	envolvisteis	you wrapped	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	envolvieron	they wrapped
ustedes	envolvieron	you wrapped	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Etiquetar

Etiquetar(to label) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	etiqueté	I labeled
tú	etiquetaste	you labeled	informal singular you
vos	etiquetaste	you labeled	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	etiquetó	he, she labeled
usted	etiquetó	you labeled	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	etiquetamos	we labeled
vosotros, vosotras	etiquetasteis	you labeled	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	etiquetaron	they labeled
ustedes	etiquetaron	you labeled	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Evaluar

Evaluar(to evaluate) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	evalué	I evaluated
tú	evaluaste	you evaluated	informal singular you
vos	evaluaste	you evaluated	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	evaluó	he, she evaluated
usted	evaluó	you evaluated	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	evaluamos	we evaluated
vosotros, vosotras	evaluasteis	you evaluated	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	evaluaron	they evaluated
ustedes	evaluaron	you evaluated	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Hacer

Hacer(to do, to make) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," ha, changes to hi in all forms.

In the él, ella and usted forms of hacer in the preterite, the c changes to a z.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	hice	I made, did
tú	hiciste	you made, did	informal singular you
vos	hiciste	you made, did	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	hizo	he, she made, did
usted	hizo	you made, did	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	hicimos	we made, did
vosotros, vosotras	hicisteis	you made, did	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	hicieron	they made, did
ustedes	hicieron	you made, did	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that none of the forms of the verb hacer take an accent in the preterite.

Limpiar

Limpiar(to clean) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	limpié	I cleaned
tú	limpiaste	you cleaned	informal singular you
vos	limpiaste	you cleaned	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	limpió	he, she cleaned
usted	limpió	you cleaned	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	limpiamos	we cleaned
vosotros, vosotras	limpiasteis	you cleaned	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	limpiaron	they cleaned
ustedes	limpiaron	you cleaned	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Llegar

Llegar(to arrive) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	llegué	I arrived
tú	llegaste	you arrived	informal singular you
vos	llegaste	you arrived	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	llegó	he, she arrived
usted	llegó	you arrived	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	llegamos	we arrived
vosotros, vosotras	llegasteis	you arrived	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	llegaron	they arrived
ustedes	llegaron	you arrived	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Meter

Meter(to put [into], to load) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	metí	I loaded
tú	metiste	you loaded	informal singular you
vos	metiste	you loaded	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	metió	he, she loaded
usted	metió	you loaded	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	metimos	we loaded
vosotros, vosotras	metisteis	you loaded	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	metieron	they loaded
ustedes	metieron	you loaded	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Mover

Mover(to move) is an -er verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	moví	I moved
tú	moviste	you moved	informal singular you
vos	moviste	you moved	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	movió	he, she moved
usted	movió	you moved	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	movimos	we moved
vosotros, vosotras	movisteis	you moved	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	movieron	they moved
ustedes	movieron	you moved	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Mudarse

Mudarse(to move) is an -ar pronominal verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me mudé	I moved
tú	te mudaste	you moved	informal singular you
vos	te mudaste	you moved	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se mudó	he, she moved
usted	se mudó	you moved	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos mudamos	we moved
vosotros, vosotras	os mudasteis	you moved	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se mudaron	they moved
ustedes	se mudaron	you moved	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Mover vs. Mudarse

• Mover refers to the act of moving something or someone to a different space.

• Mudarse refers to the act of relocating to a different dwelling or city.

Read more about mover and mudarse in this article!

Organizar

Organizar(to organize) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	organicé	I organized
tú	organizaste	you organized	informal singular you
vos	organizaste	you organized	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	organizó	he, she organized
usted	organizó	you organized	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	organizamos	we organized
vosotros, vosotras	organizasteis	you organized	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	organizaron	they organized
ustedes	organizaron	you organized	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Pedir

Pedir(to ask [for]) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," pe, changes to pi in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	pedí	I asked for
tú	pediste	you asked for	informal singular you
vos	pediste	you asked for	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	pidió	he, she asked for
usted	pidió	you asked for	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	pedimos	we asked for
vosotros, vosotras	pedisteis	you asked for	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	pidieron	they asked for
ustedes	pidieron	you asked for	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Poner

Poner(to put) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," pon, changes to pus in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	puse	I put
tú	pusiste	you put	informal singular you
vos	pusiste	you put	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	puso	he, she put
usted	puso	you put	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	pusimos	we put
vosotros, vosotras	pusisteis	you put	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	pusieron	they put
ustedes	pusieron	you put	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that the yo and él, ella, usted forms of poner in the preterite do not have accent marks.

Reservar

Reservar(to reserve) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	reservé	I reserved
tú	reservaste	you reserved	informal singular you
vos	reservaste	you reserved	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	reservó	he, she reserved
usted	reservó	you reserved	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	reservamos	we reserved
vosotros, vosotras	reservasteis	you reserved	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	reservaron	they reserved
ustedes	reservaron	you reserved	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Romperse

Romperse(to break) is an -er pronominal verb that is regular in the preterite. When we’re talking about an object that broke, we use the third-person singular and plural forms of the verb.

Number	Conjugation
singular	se rompió
plural	se rompieron

Salir

Salir(to leave) is an -ir verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	salí	I left
tú	saliste	you left	informal singular you
vos	saliste	you left	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	salió	he, she left
usted	salió	you left	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	salimos	we left
vosotros, vosotras	salisteis	you left	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	salieron	they left
ustedes	salieron	you left	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Tener

Tener(to have) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," te, changes to tuv in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	tuve	I had
tú	tuviste	you had	informal singular you
vos	tuviste	you had	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tuvo	he, she had
usted	tuvo	you had	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	tuvimos	we had
vosotros, vosotras	tuvisteis	you had	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tuvieron	they had
ustedes	tuvieron	you had	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that the yo and él, ella, usted forms of tener in the preterite do not have accent marks.

Terminar

Terminar(to finish) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	terminé	I finished
tú	terminaste	you finished	informal singular you
vos	terminaste	you finished	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	terminó	he, she finished
usted	terminó	you finished	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	terminamos	we finished
vosotros, vosotras	terminasteis	you finished	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	terminaron	they finished
ustedes	terminaron	you finished	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Usar

Usar(to use) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	usé	I used
tú	usaste	you used	informal singular you
vos	usaste	you used	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	usó	he, she used
usted	usó	you used	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	usamos	we used
vosotros, vosotras	usasteis	you used	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	usaron	they used
ustedes	usaron	you used	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Vaciar

Vaciar(to empty) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	vacié	I emptied
tú	vaciaste	you emptied	informal singular you
vos	vaciaste	you emptied	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	vació	he, she emptied
usted	vació	you emptied	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	vaciamos	we emptied
vosotros, vosotras	vaciasteis	you emptied	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	vaciaron	they emptied
ustedes	vaciaron	you emptied	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Verificar

Verificar(to check) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	verifiqué	I checked
tú	verificaste	you checked	informal singular you
vos	verificaste	you checked	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	verificó	he, she checked
usted	verificó	you checked	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	verificamos	we checked
vosotros, vosotras	verificasteis	you checked	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	verificaron	they checked
ustedes	verificaron	you checked	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

The Preterite

Regular Spanish Preterite Forms

There are only two sets of endings for regular preterite verbs, one for -ar verbs and one for both -er and -ir verbs. To conjugate a regular verb in the preterite tense, simply remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add the preterite ending that matches the subject. Check out the table of regular preterite endings below.

Subject	-ar Verbs	-er and -ir Verbs
yo	-é	-í
tú	-aste	-iste
él, ella, usted	-ó	-ió
nosotros	-amos	-imos
vosotros	-asteis	-isteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes	-aron	-ieron

Irregular and Stem-Changing Verbs in the Preterite

Note that some verbs, like many of those we saw in this lesson, are irregular or stem-changing in the preterite! Learn more about irregular verbs, spelling changes, and stem-changing preterite verbs in this article.

When Do We Use the Preterite?

Actions Completed in the Past

We use the preterite to describe actions completed at a point in the past, especially those with very clear beginnings and ends. For example, we often use the preterite with the following phrases:

• anteayer

• después

• entonces

• luego

• más tarde

• por la mañana

• por la tarde

• por la noche

• primero

Events in a Sequence

We also use the preterite to list past events that happened in a sequence.

For example:

examples
Primero, pidieron presupuesto. First, they asked for an estimate.
Después, evaluaron diferentes opciones. Afterward, they evaluated different options.
Luego, decidieron la compañía de mudanza. Then, they decided on the moving company.
Finalmente, contrataron una compañía. Finally, they hired a company.

Quiz Yourself!

Want more practice with the vocabulary you learned in these lessons? Click here!

Spanish Conversation

Fantastic! Let's put the grammar and vocab from above to the test in the following example of a conversation in Spanish.

Roberta:

¡Hola, Nico! ¿Sabes que mis primos se mudaron anteayer?

Hi, Nico! Did you know that my cousins moved the day before yesterday?

Nico:

No. ¿Les ayudaste?

No. Did you help them?

Roberta:

Sí, yo les ayudé. Metimos las cajas en el camión.

Yes, I helped them. We loaded the boxes into the truck.

Nico:

¿Movieron todo en el camión?

Did they move everything in the truck?

Roberta:

También usaron carritos. Algunos objetos se rompieron.

They also used carts. Some objects got broken.

Nico:

¿Se enfadaron?

Did they get upset?

Want to learn more about how to help someone move in Spanish? Check out the following articles!

• “Mover,” “Mudarse,” and “Trasladar”

• Describe Your Home in Spanish

• Furnish Your Apartment in Spanish