What is the preterite of pedir in Spanish?

The preterite of pedir is: pedí, pediste, pidió, pedimos, pedisteis, pidieron. The third-person forms (pidió, pidieron) shift the stem e to i; all other forms keep the e. The endings are standard -ir preterite endings with regular accents on yo (pedí) and él/ella (pidió).

Why is it pidió instead of pedió?

Pedir belongs to the stem-changing -ir verb family. Verbs with e in the stem shift to i in the third-person preterite forms (pidió, pidieron). This is the same rule that applies to servir, repetir, seguir, and sentir. The other four forms keep the original e.

What's the difference between pedir and preguntar?

Pedir means to ask for something tangible (a favor, an object, an action). Preguntar means to ask a question (looking for information). I asked for help = Pedí ayuda. I asked her name = Le pregunté su nombre. They're not interchangeable; the choice depends on what you're asking for.

How can I learn to use the preterite of pedir naturally?

Pedir is everywhere in real conversation: ordering food, asking for favors, requesting items in stores. Parrot's short-form videos surface restaurant, shopping, and personal-conversation contexts where pedí, pidió, and pidieron appear constantly. The e-to-i shift becomes second nature with exposure.

Spanish grammar · Intermediate

Preterite of Pedir: All Forms with Examples

Written by Sofia Ramirez, Lead Spanish Curriculum Editor · Reviewed May 2026

The preterite of pedir is regular except for an e-to-i shift in the third-person forms: pidió, pidieron. The other forms keep the e (pedí, pediste, pedimos, pedisteis). This e-to-i pattern is shared by other -ir verbs like servir, repetir, and seguir.

Pedí un café con leche.

I ordered a coffee with milk.

What it is

Pedir's preterite is regular except for a stem shift in the third-person forms: the e becomes i, giving pidió and pidieron. The other four forms keep the e: pedí, pediste, pedimos, pedisteis. This e-to-i pattern is shared by other stem-changing -ir verbs like servir, repetir, seguir, and sentir.

In Pedí un café con leche (I ordered a coffee with milk), pedí marks one completed act of ordering, asking for something. The preterite frames the request as a finished event at a specific past moment.

How to spot it

The e-to-i shift only happens in third-person forms: pidió (él/ella/usted) and pidieron (ellos/ellas/ustedes). The other four forms keep pedir's regular e (pedí, pediste, pedimos, pedisteis).

Pedí el menú al camarero. — I asked the waiter for the menu.
Pidió un favor enorme. — He asked for a huge favor.
Pidieron silencio durante el discurso. — They asked for silence during the speech.

The same e-to-i shift shows up in servir (sirvió, sirvieron), repetir (repitió, repitieron), and seguir (siguió, siguieron). Spot the pattern once and the whole subfamily becomes predictable.

Preterite of Pedir Quick Reference

Preterite of pedir, all six forms

Person	Form	Translation
yo	pedí	I asked for / ordered
tú	pediste	you asked for / ordered
él/ella/Ud.	pidió	he, she, you (formal) asked for / ordered
nosotros	pedimos	we asked for / ordered
vosotros	pedisteis	you all asked for / ordered (Spain)
ellos/Uds.	pidieron	they, you all asked for / ordered

Common Preterite of Pedir Examples in Spanish

Pedir means to request or ask for something (not to ask a question, that's preguntar). The preterite frames each request as a completed event, often at a specific moment in a restaurant, store, or conversation.

Ordering at Restaurants and Bars

Pedí una hamburguesa con patatas.: I ordered a burger with fries.
¿Qué pediste de cena?: What did you order for dinner?
Pidió la especialidad de la casa.: She ordered the house specialty.
Pedimos vino tinto para acompañar.: We ordered red wine to go with it.
Pidieron café y postre.: They ordered coffee and dessert.

Ordering food and drink is the prototypical use of pedir. The preterite captures each order as a finished transaction.

Asking for Favors and Help

Le pedí ayuda con mi tarea.: I asked her for help with my homework.
Pidió un favor enorme.: He asked for a huge favor.
Pedimos consejos a nuestros padres.: We asked our parents for advice.
¿Le pediste perdón a tu hermano?: Did you apologize to your brother?
Pidieron silencio en la sala.: They asked for silence in the room.

Pedir + favor / ayuda / perdón covers asking for personal favors or apologies. Pair with an indirect object pronoun (le, me, te) to mark who you asked.

Requesting Items in Stores

Pedí la talla más grande.: I asked for the larger size.
Pidió otro color al dependiente.: She asked the clerk for another color.
Pedimos un descuento al final.: We asked for a discount at the end.
Pidieron muestras antes de comprar.: They asked for samples before buying.
¿Le pediste el recibo?: Did you ask for the receipt?

Pedir works for any request in a store: a different size, a price, a sample. Each request is a completed event, hence the preterite.

Pedir Que + Subjunctive

Le pedí que viniera temprano.: I asked him to come early.
Pidió que no hicieran ruido.: He asked them not to make noise.
Pedimos que nos llamaran al llegar.: We asked them to call us when they arrived.
Pidieron que fuéramos puntuales.: They asked us to be on time.
Le pediste que te ayudara.: You asked her to help you.

Pedir que + past subjunctive is the standard way to ask someone to do something. The preterite of pedir triggers the past subjunctive in the dependent clause.

How to Form the Preterite of Pedir

e → i in Third-Person Forms

The stem pedir has e, but in the third-person preterite forms it shifts to i: pidió (él/ella/usted) and pidieron (ellos/ellas/ustedes). The other four forms keep the e: pedí, pediste, pedimos, pedisteis. This e-to-i shift in third person defines the stem-changing -ir verb subfamily.

pedir → e in 1st/2nd person, i in 3rd person: pedí / pidió / pedimos / pidieron.

Same root, just a vowel change in 3rd person.

Only the él/ella and ellos forms shift. The other four stay with pedir's regular e.

Regular Endings with Accents

The endings are the standard -ir preterite set: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Yo and él/ella keep their accents (pedí, pidió), unlike the truly irregular preterites (tuve, puse) that drop accents entirely.

pedí (accent on í), pidió (accent on ó).

Standard accent placement for regular -ir preterites.

Pedir is regular in its endings; only the stem changes in third person.

Pedir + Indirect Object

When you ask a specific person for something, use an indirect object pronoun (le, me, te, nos, os, les) before the conjugated verb. Le pedí ayuda. Nos pidieron silencio. The indirect object marks who was asked.

Le pedí un favor a mi amigo.

I asked my friend for a favor.

Recipient pronoun first, then verb, then thing requested. The full a + person can appear too for clarity.

Same Pattern: Servir, Repetir, Seguir

Other stem-changing -ir verbs with e in the stem follow the same rule: servir → sirvió / sirvieron, repetir → repitió / repitieron, seguir → siguió / siguieron, sentir → sintió / sintieron. Learning pedir unlocks the whole subfamily.

Sirvió la sopa. Lo repitieron tres veces. Sintieron miedo.

She served the soup. They repeated it three times. They felt fear.

-ir verb + e in stem = e-to-i in third-person preterite.

Common Mistakes with Preterite of Pedir

Incorrect: Él pedió un café con leche. — He ordered a coffee with milk. (wrong, third-person needs the e-to-i shift)

Correct: Él pidió un café con leche. — He ordered a coffee with milk.

The third-person singular preterite of pedir is pidió, not pedió. The e in the stem flips to i in él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes forms.

Incorrect: Pidí un favor a mi amigo. — I asked my friend for a favor. (wrong, only third-person shifts the stem)

Correct: Pedí un favor a mi amigo. — I asked my friend for a favor.

The e-to-i shift only happens in third-person forms (pidió, pidieron). The yo form keeps the e: pedí. Same goes for tú, nosotros, and vosotros.

Incorrect: Le pregunté un favor enorme. — I asked him for a huge favor. (wrong verb choice)

Correct: Le pedí un favor enorme. — I asked him for a huge favor.

Preguntar = to ask a question (looking for information). Pedir = to ask for something (a thing, favor, action). Asking for a favor takes pedir. The conjugation is fine; the verb choice is the issue.

Preterite of Pedir FAQs

What is the preterite of pedir in Spanish?: The preterite of pedir is: pedí, pediste, pidió, pedimos, pedisteis, pidieron. The third-person forms (pidió, pidieron) shift the stem e to i; all other forms keep the e. The endings are standard -ir preterite endings with regular accents on yo (pedí) and él/ella (pidió).
Why is it pidió instead of pedió?: Pedir belongs to the stem-changing -ir verb family. Verbs with e in the stem shift to i in the third-person preterite forms (pidió, pidieron). This is the same rule that applies to servir, repetir, seguir, and sentir. The other four forms keep the original e.
What's the difference between pedir and preguntar?: Pedir means to ask for something tangible (a favor, an object, an action). Preguntar means to ask a question (looking for information). I asked for help = Pedí ayuda. I asked her name = Le pregunté su nombre. They're not interchangeable; the choice depends on what you're asking for.
What other verbs follow the same e-to-i pattern as pedir?: Stem-changing -ir verbs with e: servir (sirvió, sirvieron), repetir (repitió, repitieron), seguir (siguió, siguieron), sentir (sintió, sintieron), preferir (prefirió, prefirieron). Same rule: e stays in 1st/2nd person, i appears in 3rd.
How can I learn to use the preterite of pedir naturally?: Pedir is everywhere in real conversation: ordering food, asking for favors, requesting items in stores. Parrot's short-form videos surface restaurant, shopping, and personal-conversation contexts where pedí, pidió, and pidieron appear constantly. The e-to-i shift becomes second nature with exposure.