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      Spanish preterite

      What is preterite in Spanish grammar? The preterite tense is used to talk about things that happened in the past.

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      Learn Spanish preterite usage and find out preterite types, examples and common mistakes. Learn Spanish the most effective way and reach your language goals faster: take private Spanish lessons or Spanish classes online from the comfort of your own home!

      The Preterite or -ar verbs and "estar"

      Explanation

      The preterite tense is used to talk about things that happened in the past. As with the present tense, in the preterite, Spanish verbs follow a pattern according to whether they end in -ar, -er, or -ir.

      Preterite endings of regular -ar verbs
      yo
      -aste
      él/ella/usted
      nosotros/as -amos
      vosotros/as -asteis
      ellos/ellas/ustedes -aron

      Preterite of estar (to be)
      Even though the verb estar is an -ar verb, it follows an irregular pattern.
      yo estuve nosotros/as estuvimos
      tú estuviste vosotros/as estuvisteis
      él/ella/usted estuvo ellos/ellas/ustedes estuvieron

      Example

      Ayer hablé con mis padres por teléfono.
      Yesterday, I spoke to my parents over the phone.

      La semana pasada viajamos a París.
      Last week we traveled to Paris.

      Viajamos a las Bahamas para nuestras vacaciones.
      We're traveling to the Bahamas on our vacation.

      Ella terminó el informe anoche.
      She finished the report last night.

      Common mistakes

      The conjugation of -ar verbs in the first person plural (nosotros/as) is the same in the present and in the preterite

      Nosotros ayer trabajamos mucho.

      Nosotros ayer trabajimos mucho.

      The Preterite of -er and -ir verbs

      Explanation

      Preterite endings of regular -er/-ir verbs
      yo
      -iste
      él/ella/usted -ió
      nosotros/as -imos
      vosotros/as -isteis
      ellos/ellas/ustedes -ieron

      Example

      Ayer compré un vestido.
      I bought a dress yesterday.

      La guerra duró tres años.
      The war lasted for three years.

      Fui a la playa, me quité la ropa
      y me puse el bañador.
      I went to the beach, undressed and put on my swimsuit.

      Common mistakes

      Just because a verb is irregular in the present does not necessarily mean that it will be irregular in the preterite.

      Ayer salí de casa a las 3 pm.

      Ayer salgí de casa a las 3 pm.

      Irregular Verbs in the Preterite

      Explanation

      The following verbs follow a slightly different pattern of conjugation in the preterite:

      Preterite of poder (to be able)
      yo pude nosotros/as pudimos
      tú pudiste vosotros/as pudisteis

      Preterite of poner (to put)
      yo puse nosotros/as pusimos
      tú pusiste vosotros/as pusisteis

      Preterite of saber (to know)
      yo supe nosotros/as supimos
      tú supiste vosotros/as supisteis

      Preterite of querer (to want)
      yo quise nosotros/as quisimos
      tú quisiste vosotros/as quisisteis

      Preterite of andar (to walk)
      yo anduve nosotros/as anduvimos
      tú anduviste vosotros/as anduvisteis

      Preterite of venir (to come)
      yo vine nosotros/as vinimos
      tú viniste vosotros/as vinisteis

      Example

      Él no pudo comer.
      He couldn’t eat.

      Ella puso el pollo en agua caliente.
      She put the chicken in hot water.

      Ayer supimos la noticia.
      Yesterday we learned the news.

      Nosotros no quisimos pagar la cuenta.
      We didn’t want to pay the bill.

      Anduviste por todo el museo.
      You walked through the entire museum.

      Mi esposo vino a casa tarde.
      My husband came home late.

      Common mistakes

      Note that irregular verbs do not have a tilde.

      Él puso la radio.

      Él pusó la radio.

      Spelling Changes in the Preterite

      Explanation

      Most irregularities in the preterite have to do with spelling changes. For example, verbs ending in -car change the c to qu before e; verbs ending in -gar change the g to gu before e; and verbs ending in -zar change the z to c before e.

      Often, i is changed to y.

      Preterite of leer (to read)
      yo leí nosotros/as leímos
      tú leíste vosotros/as leísteis
      él/ella/usted leyó ellos/ellas/ustedes leyeron

      The verbs decir (to say) and traer (to bring) take a j between the vowels.

      Preterite of decir (to say)
      yo dije nosotros/as dijimos
      tú dijiste vosotros/as dijisteis
      él/ella/usted dijo ellos/ellas/ustedes dijeron

      Example

      Llegué a tiempo a tu cita.
      I was on time for my appointment.

      Leyó el periódico y se marchó al trabajo.
      She/He read the newspaper and left for work.

      Le dije la verdad a él.
      I told him the truth.

      Nos trajeron un vino excelente.
      They brought us an excellent wine.

      Common mistakes

      Note that the verb "decir" and "traer" in the third person loose the "i".

      Ellos dijeron que vendrían.

      Ellos dijieron que vendrían.

      More Irregulars in the Preterite

      Explanation

      Here are the irregular preterite forms of dar (to give), pedir (to ask for), and ver (to see).

      Preterite of dar (to give)
      yo di nosotros/as dimos
      tú diste vosotros/as disteis
      él/ella/usted dio ellos/ellas/ustedes dieron

      Preterite of pedir (to ask for)
      yo pedí nosotros/as pedimos
      tú pediste vosotros/as pedisteis
      él/ella/usted pidió ellos/ellas/ustedes pidieron

      Preterite of ver (to see)
      yo vi nosotros/as vimos
      tú viste vosotros/as visteis
      él/ella/usted vio ellos/ellas/ustedes vieron

      The preterite of haber
      In Spanish, we use the verb haber to say there is/there are. In the present tense, the form is hay, and in the preterite, it is hubo.

      Example

      Ella nos dio una noticia muy buena.
      She gave us very good news.

      Él me pidió mi número de teléfono.
      He asked me for my phone number.

      Vimos una película romántica.
      We saw a romantic movie.

      Hubo solamente una película extranjera en el festival de cine.
      There was only one foreign movie in the film festival.

      Common mistakes

      The verb "haber" is only used in the third person singular.

      Hubo muchas personas en la fiesta.

      Hubieron muchas personas en la fiesta.

      Using the Preterite and the Imperfect

      Explanation

      Let’s look at the different ways the preterite and the imperfect are used in Spanish.

      Simultaneous actions:
      You can use the imperfect to express two or more actions that were going on at the same time.
      Simultaneous actions are often linked with words like mientras (while) or mientras tanto (meanwhile).

      Two or more sequential actions:
      To indicate that two or more actions happened sequentially, use the preterite.

      Interrupted actions:
      In cases when you have an ongoing action that is interrupted by another action, use the imperfect to describe the action that was in progress and the preterite to describe the action that interrupted it.

      Example

      Ella leía el periódico mientras yo cocinaba.
      She read the newspaper while I cooked.

      Mientras nosotros mirábamos televisión, ellos se vestían.
      While we watched television, they got dressed.

      Ella desayunó y luego fue a trabajar.
      She had breakfast and then went to work.

      Yo leí el periódico, tomé mi café y miré la tele.
      I read the newspaper, drank my coffee, and watched TV.

      Yo dormía cuando sonó el teléfono.
      I was sleeping when the phone rang.

      Empezó a llover cuando jugábamos en el parque.
      It began to rain while we were playing in the park.

      Common mistakes

      Verbs of knowledge are usually used in the imperfect tense.

      No sabía que eras médico.

      No supe que eras médico.

      Spanish past tenses

      Here are how-to guides for every type of word you'll find when you learn past tenses. Check out the dedicated categories:

      The imperfect is used to describe actions in the past that do not have a clear beginning or end.