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    Spanish Demistyfied 277-280

    Uploaded by

    George Smith

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf or txt
    of 4

    CHAPTER 13

    Talking About
    the Past with
    the Preterit

    In this chapter you will learn:

    The Preterit Tense


    Double Object Pronouns
    Using Adjectives as Nouns
    The Preterit of Irregular Verbs

    255
    Copyright © 2007 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Click here for terms of use.
    256 Spanish Demystified

    The Preterit Tense


    In Spanish there are many ways to talk about the past, and as you become more
    proficient, you’ll learn a variety of compound tenses. However, the two verb tenses
    that you will use most often to talk about the past are the preterit and the imperfect.
    The tense you use depends on the context of the sentence. We will begin with the
    preterit.
    The meaning of the preterit is similar to the simple past in English.
    andar
    yo anduve anduve I walked
    tú anduviste vimos we saw
    él/ella anduvo comieron they ate
    nosotros anduvimos
    ellos/ellas/ustedes anduvieron
    The preterit is generally used to describe completed actions in the past.

    salir Salí anoche. I went out last night.


    salí
    ¿Terminaste tu ensayo? Did you finish your essay?
    saliste
    salió No me llamaron ayer. They didn’t call me yesterday.
    salimos
    salieron In contrast, the Spanish imperfect is used to talk about past actions that are
    descriptive, were not completed, or that did not have a distinct beginning or end.
    llamar You will learn more about the imperfect in Chapter 14.
    llamé
    llamaste
    llamó PRETERIT OF -AR VERBS
    llamamos
    llamaron In the preterit, -ar verbs take one set of endings, and -er and -ir verbs take
    llamasteis another.

    Preterit of -ar Verbs


    hablar
    yo hablé I talked/spoke
    tú hablaste you talked/spoke (singular, informal)
    él/ella/usted habló he, she, it talked/spoke, you talked/spoke (singular,
    formal)
    nosotros hablamos we talked/spoke
    vosotros hablasteis you talked/spoke (plural, informal)
    ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron they, you talked/spoke (plural)
    CHAPTER 13 The Past with the Preterit 257

    N OTE : The nosotros form (-amos) is the same for the present tense and the pret-
    erit. Context will help you decide whether the verb is in the present or past.

    Here are some example sentences using -ar verbs in the preterit:

    Anoche estudiamos hasta las tres Last night we studied until three in the
    de la madrugada. morning.
    La fiesta se acabó a la una. The party ended at one o’clock.
    ¿Jugaste fútbol ayer? Did you play soccer yesterday?

    acabar acabé acabaste acabó acabamos acabaron

    PRETERIT OF -ER AND -IR VERBS


    The endings are the same for -er and -ir verbs.

    Preterit of -er and -ir Verbs


    comer vivir
    yo comí I ate viví I lived
    tú comiste you ate viviste you lived
    él/ella/usted comió he, she, it, you ate vivió he, she, it, you lived
    nosotros comimos we ate vivimos we lived
    vosotros comisteis you ate vivisteis you lived
    ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron they, you ate vivieron they, you lived

    comer como comes come comemos


    N OTE : The nosotros form (-imos) is also the same for the present tense and the
    preterit for -er and -ir verbs.

    Here are some example sentences using -er and -ir verbs in the preterit:

    Anoche comimos en un buen Last night we ate at a good restaurant.


    restaurante.
    ¿Condujiste solo a Chicago? Did you drive alone to Chicago?
    manejar
    automóvil=auto=carro=coche

    conduje
    condujiste
    condujo
    condujimos
    condujeron
    258 Spanish Demystified

    STEM-CHANGING VERBS IN THE PRETERIT


    Stem-changing verbs ending in -ar and -er do not show a stem change in the pret-
    erit. They follow the same patterns as -ar and -er regular verbs. Salir is also “regu-
    lar” in the preterit.
    to think
    pensar entender salir
    yo pensé entendí salí
    tú pensaste entendiste saliste
    él/ella/usted pensó entendió salió
    nosotros pensamos entendimos salimos
    vosotros pensasteis entendisteis salisteis
    ellos piensan ellos/ellas/ustedes pensaron entendieron salieron

    Stem-changing verbs ending in -ir do change in the preterit. In the third-person


    singular (él, ella, usted) and third-person plural (ellos, ellas, ustedes), the e→i and
    the o→u in the stem.
    to ask preguntar
    pedir dormir
    pedí dormí
    pediste dormiste
    pidió durmió
    pedimos dormimos
    pedisteis dormisteis
    pidieron durmieron

    SPELLING CHANGES IN THE PRETERIT


    Verbs that end in -gar, -car, and -zar have spelling changes in the first person sin-
    gular preterit (yo). Other forms are regular. empecé
    empezaste
    llegar buscar empezar empezó
    yo llegué busqué empecé empezamos
    empezaron
    Verbs ending in -uir, -aer, -eer, and -oír show a spelling change in the third-per-
    son singular (él, ella, usted) and third-person plural (ellos, ellas, ustedes).

    Huir flee construir leer oír caer


    hui yo construí leí leyó oí oyó caí cayó
    huiste tú construiste leíste oíste caíste cayeron
    huyó leyeron oyeron
    huimos Henry
    huisteis Henry
    huyeron

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