That War Happened Last Century in Spanish | Say It Naturally

The cleanest Spanish version is “Esa guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado”, using a finished-past verb for a completed event.

If you’re trying to translate “That war happened last century” into Spanish, you’re in a good spot. It’s a short English line that hides a few choices in Spanish: which past tense fits, whether “that” should point to something already known, and how to say “last century” in a way that sounds normal in conversation.

This article gives you a safe, natural default translation, then shows the main alternatives you’ll see in real Spanish. You’ll leave with a few plug-and-play options and a quick method to pick the right one for your sentence.

Best Default Translation

Most of the time, you can translate the sentence as:

• Esa guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado.

Why this works: ocurrió (simple past) frames the event as completed, and el siglo pasado pins it to a finished time period. Spanish likes that clean pairing.

What “That” Usually Means In Spanish

English “that” can point to something already mentioned, something the listener knows, or something the speaker is pointing at in the moment. Spanish often handles that with a demonstrative adjective:

• esa guerra (that war) when the war is known in the conversation
• aquel(a) guerra (that war over there / that one back then) when the distance is emotional, time-based, or storytelling-style

If you’re naming a specific war, Spanish may drop the demonstrative and use the name with an article:

• La Primera Guerra Mundial ocurrió el siglo pasado.

Also, Spanish frequently prefers “that” as ese/esa when the referent is already shared between speakers, even if English feels more neutral.

Saying that a war happened last century in Spanish with the right tense

This sentence points to a completed event inside a completed time frame. That steers you toward the simple past in most varieties of Spanish:

• ocurrió (it happened)
• pasó (it happened / it took place)
• tuvo lugar (it took place; a bit more formal)

In Spain, you may also hear the present perfect (ha ocurrido) in some contexts, yet “last century” is a finished block of time, so the simple past stays the safer choice for a standalone sentence.

Solid verb picks

If you want a single “best” verb, ocurrió is hard to beat. It’s neutral, clear, and works for historical events. Pasó is shorter and casual. Tuvo lugar reads like a textbook or museum placard.

How To Say “Last Century” Without Sounding Stiff

El siglo pasado is the standard phrase. It means the century immediately before the current one. If we’re in the 21st century, it points to the 20th century.

If you want to spell it out, you can say:

• en el siglo XX
• durante el siglo XX

The RAE dictionary defines siglo as a period of 100 years, which is exactly the unit you’re using in this sentence. RAE: “siglo” (Diccionario de la lengua española) is a handy citation if you’re writing something formal.

When “en” vs “durante” changes the feel

En el siglo XX feels like a time label on a timeline. Durante el siglo XX suggests the event belongs to that span as part of a longer story. For a single, clean sentence, el siglo pasado or en el siglo XX reads smooth.

Translation Options You Can Copy

Here are natural variants, from neutral to slightly more formal. Pick one based on how specific you want to be and whether the war is already known in the conversation.

• Esa guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado.
• Esa guerra pasó en el siglo pasado.
• Aquella guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado.
• La guerra ocurrió en el siglo XX.
• La guerra tuvo lugar en el siglo XX.

If you’re writing for a school assignment or an article, the “century as Roman numerals” form is common. The RAE’s usage notes cover how centuries are counted and commonly written. RAE: “siglos” (Diccionario panhispánico de dudas) is the clean reference.

Common Mix-Ups And Quick Fixes

Mix-up 1: Using an unfinished-past tense

If you write esa guerra ocurría el siglo pasado, it sounds like the war was “going on” or was an ongoing backdrop, not a completed event. That’s a different meaning. If you mean the event happened (and finished), stick with ocurrió.

Mix-up 2: Making “last century” too vague

Spanish readers usually interpret el siglo pasado as the immediately previous century. If you mean a specific century from a different reference point, spell it out as en el siglo XX, en el siglo XIX, and so on.

Mix-up 3: Overusing “esa” when the war is named

If the war is clearly identified, Spanish often reads cleaner without the demonstrative:

• La Guerra Civil española ocurrió en el siglo XX.

Mix-up 4: Word order that sounds translated

English can front-load “that war” easily. Spanish can too, yet the most natural core is still subject + verb + time:

• Esa guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado.

You can move the time phrase earlier for emphasis, and it still sounds normal:

• El siglo pasado ocurrió esa guerra.

That order feels marked, like you’re contrasting centuries. Use it when that contrast is the point.

Table Of Natural Variants And When To Use Them

Spanish sentence	Best use	Notes on tone
Esa guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado.	Default translation in most contexts	Neutral, clean, works in speech and writing
Esa guerra pasó el siglo pasado.	Casual conversation	Shorter; “pasó” is common and plain
Aquella guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado.	Storytelling or “back then” feel	Adds distance; can feel more narrative
La guerra ocurrió en el siglo XX.	When you want specificity	Reads like a timeline label
La guerra tuvo lugar en el siglo XX.	Formal writing, history notes	More formal; common in academic prose
Ese conflicto ocurrió el siglo pasado.	When “war” feels too strong	“conflicto” can sound more neutral
Esa guerra se libró en el siglo XX.	When you mean “was fought”	More specific meaning than “happened”
La Primera Guerra Mundial ocurrió en el siglo XX.	Named historical events	Drops the demonstrative; clearer and direct

Picking The Right Past Tense In One Minute

Spanish past tenses can feel like a trap, but this sentence is one of the cleaner ones. You’re describing a completed event tied to a finished era. That points to the simple past.

The Real Academia Española’s grammar glossary states that the pretérito perfecto simple presents the situation as completed, contrasted with the imperfect, which does not point to an endpoint. That lines up with “last century” as a closed time block. RAE: “pretérito perfecto simple” (Glosario de términos gramaticales) is the most direct authority citation for this choice.

Two quick checks

• Is the time frame finished? “Last century” is finished. That supports ocurrió.
• Are you describing a completed event? A war “happened” as an event. That also supports ocurrió.

If your sentence is part of a longer description (how life was, what people were doing, what conditions were like), the imperfect may appear around it. Still, the core event can stay in the simple past:

• La gente vivía con miedo, y esa guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado.

Table For Choosing Words Fast

If you mean…	Use this Spanish verb	Sample with “el siglo pasado”
It happened (neutral)	ocurrió	Esa guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado.
It happened (casual)	pasó	Esa guerra pasó el siglo pasado.
It took place (formal)	tuvo lugar	La guerra tuvo lugar el siglo pasado.
It was fought (specific action)	se libró	Esa guerra se libró el siglo pasado.
It broke out (start point)	estalló	Esa guerra estalló el siglo pasado.
It ended (end point)	terminó / acabó	Esa guerra terminó el siglo pasado.

Mini Checklist Before You Hit Publish Or Submit

Use this quick pass to make your sentence feel like Spanish, not like a word-by-word swap.

• Pick the referent:esa guerra if it’s already known, the war’s name if it’s specific.
• Pick the verb:ocurrió for neutral accuracy, pasó for casual speech, tuvo lugar for formal writing.
• Pick the time phrase:el siglo pasado for everyday Spanish, en el siglo XX for clarity and precision.
• Read it out loud: if it feels heavy, swap to the shorter verb pasó.

Most learners only need one sentence that works everywhere. If that’s you, stick to the default: Esa guerra ocurrió el siglo pasado. It’s natural, clear, and hard to misread.