Talking About Past Life Changes in Spanish: Mudarse and Cambiar de Trabajo
Learn to say you moved to a new city or changed jobs in Latin American Spanish, and share how those past changes felt, using the preterite and imperfect tenses.
By PookieFriends & plans · Yapr Learn
In this lesson you will learn to talk about changes that already happened in your life: moving to a new city and changing jobs. These are past events, so you will use the preterite tense for the change itself (me mudé, cambié) and the imperfect tense to describe how you felt during that time (estaba nervioso, me sentía solo). This is different from talking about career goals, which looks forward with querer or ir a. Here we look back. All examples use broadly useful Latin American Spanish, with regional notes where usage varies.
By the end, you can…
- say that I moved to a new city and when it happened.
- say that I changed jobs and give a simple reason.
- describe how I felt after a big change using the imperfect tense.
- ask another person about a past move or job change and react to their answer.
Listen once. Try it slowly. Then say it without looking.
Checking available voices…
Me mudé a una ciudad nueva el año pasado.
I moved to a new city last year.
meh moo-DEH ah OO-nah syoo-DAD NWEH-vah el AH-nyo pah-SAH-doh
Me mudé is the preterite of mudarse, used for a completed move. In much of Latin America ciudad is two syllables: syoo-DAD (the u in cu/ciudad glides into the vowel); in careful or slower speech you may hear see-oo-DAD.
Cambié de trabajo hace tres meses.
I changed jobs three months ago.
kahm-BYEH deh trah-BAH-hoh AH-seh tres MEH-ses
Spanish says cambiar de trabajo, literally 'to change of job,' not cambiar trabajo. Hace plus a time period means 'ago.'
Al principio estaba muy nervioso.
At first I was very nervous.
al preen-SEE-pyoh es-TAH-bah mwee nehr-BYOH-soh
Use the imperfect estaba for an ongoing feeling in the past. If you are female, say nerviosa. Al principio marks the early stage of the change.
Extrañaba mi ciudad y a mis amigos.
I missed my city and my friends.
eks-trah-NYAH-bah mee syoo-DAD ee ah mees ah-MEE-gohs
Extrañar means to miss someone or something in Latin American Spanish. The personal a appears before people: extrañaba a mis amigos. In Spain you would more often hear echar de menos.
¿Cómo te sentiste después de la mudanza?
How did you feel after the move?
KOH-moh teh sen-TEES-teh des-PWEHS deh lah moo-DAN-sah
Mudanza is the noun 'move.' Sentiste is the preterite tú form of sentir; it asks about a specific period. A common reply is Me sentí raro/rara, 'I felt strange.'
Pronunciation guides are approximate. Slow playback keeps the original pitch.
Make it make sense
Useful pattern
For a completed change, use the preterite: me mudé (I moved), cambié de trabajo (I changed jobs), me sentí (I felt). To describe the background feeling during that time, use the imperfect: estaba nervioso, extrañaba a mi familia, no conocía a nadie. A natural structure is: Me mudé a + city + time expression, y al principio + imperfect. Example: Me mudé a Bogotá en enero y al principio no conocía a nadie. Another: Cambié de trabajo y estaba emocionado, pero extrañaba a mis compañeros.
When to use it
Use these forms when the change is finished and you are telling the story. Use the preterite for the event and the imperfect for feelings, habits, and descriptions around it. Compare: Ayer me mudé (event, preterite) versus Cuando llegué, estaba cansado (state, imperfect). If you are talking about a plan, switch to the future: Voy a mudarme or Quiero cambiar de trabajo. Do not use the preterite for goals; use querer, ir a, or esperar. Example: Espero mudarme pronto, 'I hope to move soon.'
Listen to each line, then take one part and reply out loud.
¿Es verdad que te mudaste a otra ciudad?
Is it true that you moved to another city?es vehr-DAD keh teh moo-DAS-teh ah OH-trah syoo-DADSí, me mudé a Medellín hace seis meses. Al principio estaba muy nerviosa.
Yes, I moved to Medellín six months ago. At first I was very nervous.see, meh moo-DEH ah meh-deh-YEEN AH-seh says MEH-ses. al preen-SEE-pyoh es-TAH-bah mwee nehr-BYOH-sah¿Y extrañabas tu ciudad?
And did you miss your city?ee eks-trah-NYAH-bahs too syoo-DADMucho. Extrañaba a mi familia, pero ahora me siento muy bien aquí.
A lot. I missed my family, but now I feel very good here.MOO-choh. eks-trah-NYAH-bah ah mee fah-MEE-lyah, PEH-roh ah-OH-rah meh SYEN-toh mwee byehn ah-KEEA little context goes a long way
In Latin American Spanish, extrañar is the everyday verb for missing people and places; echar de menos is understood but sounds more Peninsular. Mudarse de casa means moving house, while mudarse a means moving to a place. When someone shares a big change, a warm response is ¡Qué valiente! or Me alegro por ti, rather than a flat ¡Qué bien!, which can sound indifferent.
One thing to watch for
Cambié mi trabajo a una empresa nueva.
Try this instead: Say Cambié de trabajo or Cambié de empresa. Spanish uses cambiar de + noun for switching jobs, careers, or schools: Cambié de trabajo el mes pasado. Cambiar mi trabajo suggests you altered the job itself, not that you got a new one.
Your turn
Try answering out loud before checking a possible answer.
1How do you say 'I moved to a new city two years ago'?
Show a sample answer
Me mudé a una ciudad nueva hace dos años.
Me mudé is the preterite for a completed move, and hace dos años means 'two years ago.' Hace alone is the standard way to say 'ago'; adding atrás (hace dos años atrás) is common in some regions but is considered redundant by many speakers.
2Which tense fits: 'When I arrived, I was tired'?
Show a sample answer
Cuando llegué, estaba cansado. (or cansada if the speaker is female)
Llegué is a completed event, so it takes the preterite; estaba describes a state in the past, so it takes the imperfect. Some speakers might say me sentía cansado, which is also valid.
3Turn 'I want to change jobs' into a past statement.
Show a sample answer
Cambié de trabajo. / Quería cambiar de trabajo.
Cambié de trabajo states the completed change; quería cambiar de trabajo describes a past desire. Both are correct, but only the first says the change actually happened.
Use the preterite for the change itself (me mudé, cambié de trabajo) and the imperfect for how you felt around it (estaba nervioso, extrañaba a mi familia). Keep goals in the future with querer or ir a.
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