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Quisimos recoger la cocina anoche.

Quisimos recoger la cocina anoche.
We wanted to tidy up the kitchen last night.
From Lesson 134:Preterite i-stems (hice, quiso, vino)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Quisimos recoger la cocina anoche.

Why is it quisimos instead of "querimos"?
Querer (to want) has an irregular stem in the Pretérito Indefinido (simple past). Instead of keeping the regular quer- base, it changes to quis-. For the "we" form, you add the standard ending -imos, making it quisimos. This follows the pattern you are currently learning for "i-stem" verbs, just like how hacer changes to hic- and venir changes to vin-.
Why isn't recoger conjugated here?
In Spanish, when two verbs are combined into a single idea like "wanted to tidy up", only the first verb is conjugated to show who is doing the action (quisimos for "we wanted"). The second verb always stays in its infinitive (dictionary) form (recoger).
Doesn't recoger usually mean "to pick up"?
Yes, it is very commonly used to mean "to pick up" (like picking up a package or giving a friend a ride). However, when talking about rooms or a house, recoger is the most natural way to say "to tidy up" or "to clear up" in Spain. You can think of it as literally "picking up" the mess!
Could I say "la noche pasada" instead of anoche?
People would understand you, but native speakers almost always use the single word anoche to mean "last night". It is also a very strong signal word that tells you to use the Pretérito Indefinido (simple past), since it points to an action finished in a specific, completed timeframe.

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