Today’s Spanish word of the day is “anteayer”. It’s an adverb meaning “the day before yesterday”.
It’s interesting that Spanish has a single word to express this concept, whereas in English you need four words!
“Anteayer” can be combined with other words to create more complex expressions to explain exactly when something happened.
For example, you could say “anteayer por la mañana” (the morning of the day before yesterday) or “anteayer por la tarde” (the afternoon of the day before yesterday).
In some parts of Latin America, in particular Central America and the Caribbean, the variation “antier” is often used instead of “anteayer”.
Example Sentences
Beginner
Here are some example sentences at beginner (A1/A2) level:
Anteayer fui al parque con mis amigos.
The day before yesterday, I went to the park with my friends.
¿Recuerdas lo que hicimos anteayer?
Do you remember what we did the day before yesterday?
Anteayer visité a mi abuela y me dio unas galletas deliciosas.
The day before yesterday, I visited my grandmother and she gave me some delicious cookies.
Intermediate
Here are some example sentences at intermediate (B1/B2) level:
Anteayer, cuando fui a la tienda, vi una oferta interesante en los productos de limpieza.
The day before yesterday, when I went to the store, I saw an interesting offer on cleaning products.
Anteayer, mi profesor de español nos asignó un proyecto de investigación sobre la historia de la lengua española.
The day before yesterday, my Spanish professor assigned us a research project on the history of the Spanish language.
Anteayer, cuando hablé con mi amigo, me contó que había aprobado el examen de conducir.
The day before yesterday, when I spoke to my friend, he told me he had passed the driving test.
Advanced
Here are some example sentences at advanced (C1/C2) level:
Según el informe que recibimos anteayer, las ventas en el último trimestre superaron las expectativas en un 15%.
According to the report we received the day before yesterday, sales in the last quarter exceeded expectations by 15%.
Anteayer, mientras exploraba ese antiguo yacimiento arqueológico, descubrí un artefacto que podría arrojar luz sobre las costumbres de la civilización que allí habitó.
The day before yesterday, while exploring that ancient archaeological site, I discovered an artifact that could shed light on the customs of the civilization that lived there.
