Oir Past Tense Conjugation

Oír Conjugation: You’re probably hearing lots of different sounds right now, but if you’re paying attention to what you’re reading, you might not be aware of them. You might be hearing the traffic, a car horn, or someone talking on the radio or TV, or if you’re lucky enough to be surrounded by nature, you might be hearing the birds singing or even the sound of a fountain or a river. In Spanish, we use the verb oír (pronounced: oh-EER), which means ‘to hear,’ to refer to the sounds we hear or perceive, as opposed to what we listen to.

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Let’s look at out how to conjugate this verb in the present tense and the present subjunctive and how to use it adequately in context. Daniela and her friend Ana will help us with lots of examples.

Oir Conjugation Preterite

With the present indicative (usually called ‘present tense’) we can talk about our habits or routines, or we can simply mention facts. So with the present of oír you might say that you can hear the TV playing in the background while you cook, or that you can hear the river from your house.

Oír is an irregular verb, so pay attention to the spelling in every form. Notice that the i from the stem becomes y in some of the forms. This is to avoid having three vowels together.

Note: Only Spaniards use the form vosotros/as when addressing more than one person in informal situations. In the rest of the Spanish-speaking countries, everyone uses ustedes.

Oir Preterite Conjugation

Daniela lives in Madrid, the capital city of Spain. Although she likes her city, she says it can be quite stressful sometimes.

• Oímos el tráfico y las sirenas con frecuencia. (We often hear the traffic and the sirens.)
• Desde mi casa oigo los trenes llegando a la estación. (From my house, I hear the trains arriving at the station.)

That’s why she loves going to the countryside and visiting her grandparents. Because she can get away from the city and enjoy the pleasant sounds of nature.

• Mis abuelos oyen el canto de los pájaros cuando se despiertan. (My grandparents hear the birds singing when they wake up.)
• Me encanta pasar tiempo allí. (I love spending time there.) Cuando oigo el río y los sonidos de la naturaleza me siento muy relajada. (When I hear the river and the nature sounds I feel very relaxed.)

But Daniela has a light sleep and she wakes up quite easily during the night:

• Hay tanto silencio que me despierto desde que oigo un ruido. (There’s so much silence that I wake up as soon as I hear a noise.)
• Sin embargo, mi abuelo dice que no oye nada en toda la noche. (However, my grandfather says he doesn’t hear anything all night.)

Preterite Conjugation Of Oir

What are the most relaxing sounds for you? Have you heard the radio or perhaps the sound of rain outside today? To talk about these topics in Spanish, you need the verb oír (pronounced: oh-EER), which means ‘to hear.’

Nature sounds:We use oír to talk about the sounds we perceive around us. As opposed to ‘listen’ (escuchar), when we simply hear a sound, we don’t necessarily pay close attention to it. Some of these sounds are more pleasant, like nature sounds or peaceful music, and others are disagreeable, like sirens or vehicles horns. Let’s look at some phrases related to oír:

• • oír el río (to hear the river)
  • oír el mar (to hear the sea)
  • oír el canto de los pájaros (to hear the birds singing)
• City sounds:
  • oír las sirenas (to hear the sirens)
  • oír el tráfico (to hear the traffic)
  • oír un ruido (to hear a noise)
• Music or TV:
  • oír música (to hear music)
  • oír la radio (to hear the radio)
  • oír la televisión (to hear the TV)

Oir Conjugation Spanish

Read Also: Dormir Preterite Conjugation