Preterite Tense
The preterite tense describes completed actions in the past and helps you tell stories about what happened. This guide focuses on regular verbs so you can form the tense reliably.
Usage
Use the preterite for actions that were completed at a specific time, sequences of past events, and single events with clear beginnings and ends. It contrasts with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions.
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Regular Verbs
Regular verbs follow predictable endings in the preterite for each conjugation group, so you can apply the same pattern to new verbs when telling what you did.
-ar Verbs
All -ar verbs form the preterite with endings like -é, -aste, -ó, making sentences about completed actions straightforward to compose.
| English Word(s) | Spanish Word(s) |
|---|---|
| to speak | hablar |
| to listen | escuchar |
| to work | trabajar |
| to arrive | llegar |
| to pay | pagar |
| to touch | tocar |
Conjugation of hablar (to speak) in the preterite
| English Conjugation | Spanish Conjugation |
|---|---|
| I spoke | yo hablé |
| you spoke (informal) | tú hablaste |
| he/she/you spoke (formal) | él/ella/usted habló |
| we spoke | nosotros hablamos |
| you all spoke (informal) | vosotros hablasteis |
| they/you all spoke (formal) | ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron |
| Subject | Ending | Example | English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | hablé | 🗣️ I spoke to the teacher. | I spoke to the teacher. |
| tú | -aste | hablaste | 💬 You spoke to a friend. | You spoke to a friend. |
| él/ella/usted | -ó | habló | 🎙️ She spoke at the meeting. | She spoke at the meeting. |
| nosotros | -amos | hablamos | 🧑🏫 We spoke after class. | We spoke after class. |
| vosotros | -asteis | hablasteis | 🗨️ You all spoke loudly. | You all spoke loudly. |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | -aron | hablaron | 📢 They spoke on the stage. | They spoke on the stage. |
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-er Verbs
All -er verbs form the preterite with endings like -í, -iste, -ió, which you can use to describe completed actions such as eating or drinking.
| English Word(s) | Spanish Word(s) |
|---|---|
| to eat | comer |
| to drink | beber |
| to learn | aprender |
| to sell | vender |
| to understand | entender |
| to run | correr |
Conjugation of comer (to eat) in the preterite
| English Conjugation | Spanish Conjugation |
|---|---|
| I ate | yo comí |
| you ate (informal) | tú comiste |
| he/she/you ate (formal) | él/ella/usted comió |
| we ate | nosotros comimos |
| you all ate (informal) | vosotros comisteis |
| they/you all ate (formal) | ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron |
| Subject | Ending | Example | English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -í | comí | 🍎 I ate an apple. | I ate an apple. |
| tú | -iste | comiste | 🥪 You ate a sandwich. | You ate a sandwich. |
| él/ella/usted | -ió | comió | 🍲 He ate soup. | He ate soup. |
| nosotros | -imos | comimos | 🥗 We ate salad. | We ate salad. |
| vosotros | -isteis | comisteis | 🍕 You all ate pizza. | You all ate pizza. |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | -ieron | comieron | 🍩 They ate donuts. | They ate donuts. |
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-ir Verbs
All -ir verbs form the preterite with endings like -í, -iste, -ió, similar to -er verbs, and they describe completed actions such as living or writing.
| English Word(s) | Spanish Word(s) |
|---|---|
| to live | vivir |
| to write | escribir |
| to open | abrir |
| to receive | recibir |
| to attend | asistir |
| to decide | decidir |
Conjugation of vivir (to live) in the preterite
| English Conjugation | Spanish Conjugation |
|---|---|
| I lived | yo viví |
| you lived (informal) | tú viviste |
| he/she/you lived (formal) | él/ella/usted vivió |
| we lived | nosotros vivimos |
| you all lived (informal) | vosotros vivisteis |
| they/you all lived (formal) | ellos/ellas/ustedes vivieron |
| Subject | Ending | Example | English Example | English Translation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -í | viví | 🏠 I lived in Madrid. | I lived in Madrid. |
| tú | -iste | viviste | 🏡 You lived in a flat. | You lived in a flat. |
| él/ella/usted | -ió | vivió | 🏘️ She lived near the park. | She lived near the park. |
| nosotros | -imos | vivimos | 🚪 We lived on the third floor. | We lived on the third floor. |
| vosotros | -isteis | vivisteis | 🛏️ You all lived in a hostel. | You all lived in a hostel. |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | -ieron | vivieron | 🗝️ They lived in a new neighborhood. | They lived in a new neighborhood. |
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Stem-Changing Verbs
Some verbs change their stem in the preterite but only in the -ir group and only in the third person forms; these changes affect meaning and pronunciation.
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Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs do not follow the normal endings and must be memorized because they are very common and appear often in stories about the past.
ir / ser (to go / to be)
The verbs ir and ser share the same irregular preterite forms; context tells you which meaning applies in each sentence.
| English Word(s) | Spanish Word(s) |
|---|---|
| to go / to be | --- |
| I went / was | fui |
| you went / were (informal) | fuiste |
| he/she/you went / was (formal) | fue |
| we went / were | fuimos |
| you all went / were (informal) | fuisteis |
| they/you all went / were (formal) | fueron |
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hacer (to do, to make)
The verb hacer is irregular in the preterite and commonly used to describe completed activities; its forms are needed for telling what someone did.
| English Word(s) | Spanish Word(s) |
|---|---|
| to do / to make | hacer |
| I did / made | hice |
| you did / made (informal) | hiciste |
| he/she/you did / made (formal) | hizo |
| we did / made | hicimos |
| you all did / made (informal) | hicisteis |
| they/you all did / made (formal) | hicieron |
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tener (to have)
The verb tener is irregular in the preterite and often appears in stories about acquiring or receiving things; learn its forms to narrate such events.
| English Word(s) | Spanish Word(s) |
|---|---|
| to have | tener |
| I had | tuve |
| you had (informal) | tuviste |
| he/she/you had (formal) | tuvo |
| we had | tuvimos |
| you all had (informal) | tuvisteis |
| they/you all had (formal) | tuvieron |
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Signal Words
Signal words like ayer, anoche, and el año pasado often appear with the preterite and help identify when to use it for completed past actions.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| 🌙 anoche | last night |
| ⏰ ayer | yesterday |
| 🗓️ anteayer | the day before yesterday |
| 🚪 ayer por la tarde | yesterday afternoon |
| 🌅 ayer por la mañana | yesterday morning |
| 🎉 el sábado pasado | last Saturday |
| 📅 el mes pasado | last month |
| 🧳 hace dos días | two days ago |
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Summary
The preterite tells of completed actions, and regular -ar, -er, and -ir verbs follow set endings that make it predictable; irregular verbs must be learned because they appear frequently in past narratives.
Last updated: Sun Sep 14, 2025