A Simple Guide to the Spanish Preterite Tense
Want to use the past tense in Spanish? Click here to learn how to use the Spanish preterite tense, and how it’s different from the perfect and imperfect!
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What is the Spanish preterite tense?When should we use the Spanish preterite tense?How is the Spanish preterite different from the other types of past tense?How do we form the Spanish preterite?As always, not everything is regular…Spelling changesBonus: verbs that change meaning!Test Time!¡Hola! In this article, we’ll be looking at what the Spanish preterite is, and how to use it. Enjoy!
What is the Spanish preterite tense?
The preterite (known in Spanish as the pretérito indefinido) is a Spanish past tense. It is used differently from the perfect tense and the imperfect tense, which are separate types of past tense.
When should we use the Spanish preterite tense?
The preterite is used to describe things that were completed in the past. They’re over. This could include a series of completed events in a sequence, a completed single event, or something that happened a specific number of times or over a specified time period.
How is the Spanish preterite different from the other types of past tense?
It takes practice to get to grips with which past tense you need, but here’s a general guide:
The preterite presents a past event as a completed whole. A specific time expression can help, but is not required: Comí (I ate) can be complete in context.
The imperfect describes past habits, background, or events and states in progress, without focusing on their beginning or end.
The compound perfect (he comido) often connects a past event to the present or to a time period viewed as continuing. Its use compared with the simple preterite varies across Spanish-speaking regions.
The differences are subtle but they are there!
How do we form the Spanish preterite?
-ar verbs
First, remove the infinitive ending -ar and keep the stem.
Hablar → habl-
Then, just add the appropriate ending from this table:
| yo | -é | nosotros/as | -amos |
| tú | -aste | vosotros/as | -asteis |
| él/ella/usted | -ó | ellos/ellas/ustedes | -aron |
The tables use nosotros/as and vosotros/as to show masculine and feminine pronouns. The verb ending is the same for both.
Using hablar as an example, we get:
- habléhablamos
- hablastehablasteis
- hablóhablaron
Let’s take a look at some example sentences:
| Bailé hasta la madrugada. | I danced until the early hours. |
| ¿Ya llegaste?* | Did you arrive yet?* |
| Manolo nadó dos kilómetros . | Manolo swam two kilometers. |
| Terminamos el proyecto anteayer. | We finished the project the day before yesterday. |
| ¿Os lo pasasteis bien en la fiesta? | Did you (plural) have fun at the party? |
| Al verme, empezaron a cantar. | Upon seeing me, they started to sing. |
¿Ya llegaste? is common in much of Latin America. In many parts of Spain, ¿Ya has llegado? is common for a recent arrival connected to the present. Usage varies within both Spain and Latin America; these are regional tendencies, not absolute rules.
-er/-ir verbs
Again, remove the infinitive ending (-er or -ir) and keep the stem.
Comer → com-
Vivir → viv-
Then add whichever ending you need from this table:
| yo | -í | nosotros/as | -imos |
| tú | -iste | vosotros/as | -isteis |
| él/ella/usted | -ió | ellos/ellas/ustedes | -ieron |
So, if we use comer and vivir as examples, we get:
- comícomimos
- comistecomisteis
- comiócomieron
- vivívivimos
- vivistevivisteis
- vivióvivieron
Here are some more -er examples:
| Vendí la casa. | I sold the house. |
| ¿Bebiste mi zumo de naranja? | Did you drink my orange juice? |
| Teresa nació en Japón. | Teresa was born in Japan. |
| Nos conocimos hace cinco años. | We first met each other five years ago. |
| Niños, ¿qué aprendisteis en la escuela hoy? | Kids, what did you learn at school today? |
| Anabel y sus amigos aparecieron en un programa de tele esta mañana. | Anabel and her friends appeared on a TV show this morning. |
We use the same endings in the -ir examples:
| Recibí dos cartas de él. | I received two letters from him. |
| ¿Cuántos años cumpliste ayer? | How old did you turn yesterday? |
| Juana descubrió que Miguel le había puesto los cuernos. | Juana discovered that Miguel had cheated on her. |
| Al final, decidimos quedarnos en casa y ver la tele. | In the end, we decided to stay home and watch TV. |
| Escribisteis unos libros muy interesantes. | You (plural) wrote some very interesting books. |
| Después del concierto, aplaudieron. | After the concert, they applauded. |
You might notice that for -ar and -ir verbs, the nosotros/as form is the same in the preterite as it is in the present tense. To differentiate, just use context and common sense, for example:
| En general no hablamos mucho. | In general we don’t speak much. |
| Ayer hablamos con los profes. | Yesterday we spoke to the teachers. |
| Normalmente escribimos poemas. | Normally we write poems. |
| El martes pasado, escribimos una canción. | Last Tuesday, we wrote a song. |
As always, not everything is regular…
Quite a few verbs are irregular in the preterite tense, but don’t panic! As we list them below, you might start to notice that some of them follow similar patterns.
Let’s get the super irregular ones out the way first:
Ser (to be)/Ir (to go)
Ser and ir actually have the same conjugation in the preterite, even though they have completely different meanings!
- fuifuimos
- fuistefuisteis
- fuefueron
Several common irregular verbs have a changed stem and a shared set of endings. Learn each chart below: ver and dar have short forms, while stems ending in j, such as dij- and traj-, take -eron rather than -ieron in the third-person plural.
- -e-imos
- -iste-isteis
- -o-(i)eron
So try to remember the stems, e.g. the stem for estar is estuv-.
Estar (to be)
- estuveestuvimos
- estuvisteestuvisteis
- estuvoestuvieron
Example:
- Estuve por Perú.I was in/went to Peru.
Tener (to have)
| tuve | tuvimos |
| tuviste | tuvisteis |
| tuvo | tuvieron |
Example:
- Tuvieron que ir corriendo.They had to rush off.
Hacer (to do/to make)
- hicehicimos
- hicistehicisteis
- hizohicieron
Example:
- Hicisteis mucho ruido.You (plural) made a lot of noise.
Poder (to be able to)
- pudepudimos
- pudistepudisteis
- pudopudieron
Example:
- Al final Sofía pudo entrar en el piso.In the end Sofía managed to get into the apartment.
Poner (to put)
- pusepusimos
- pusistepusisteis
- pusopusieron
Example:
- ¿Por qué pusiste tu maleta allí?Why did you put your suitcase over there?
Saber (to taste/to know/to find out)
- supesupimos
- supistesupisteis
- suposupieron
Example:
- Anoche supe algo interesante…Last night I found out something interesting…
Decir (to say)
- dijedijimos
- dijistedijisteis
- dijodijeron
Example:
- ¿Te dijeron algo?Did they say something to you?
Venir (to come)
- vinevinimos
- vinistevinisteis
- vinovinieron
Example:
- Vinimos para ganar.We came here to win.
Ver (to see)
- vivimos
- vistevisteis
- viovieron
Example:
- La semana pasada, Verónica vio a su ex.Last week, Verónica saw her ex.
Dar (to give)
- didimos
- distedisteis
- diodieron
Example:
- Te di todo.I gave you everything.
Traer (to bring)
- trajetrajimos
- trajistetrajisteis
- trajotrajeron
Example:
- Trajisteis mucha comida, ¡gracias!You (plural) brought lots of food, thanks!
Conducir (to drive), traducir (to translate), introducir (to introduce)*
*Notice that these verbs all end in -ucir, and their preterite endings are basically the same. Apply this conjugation to pretty much any common -ucir verb and you’ll be safe:
- conduje, traduje, introdujecondujimos, tradujimos, introdujimos
- condujiste, tradujiste, introdujistecondujisteis, tradujisteis, introdujisteis
- condujo, tradujo, introdujocondujeron, tradujeron, introdujeron
Example:
- Conduje a la estación.I drove to the station.
Querer (to want)
- quisequisimos
- quisistequisisteis
- quisoquisieron
Example:
- Quise saber así que pregunté.I wanted to know so I asked.
Spelling changes
There are some situations where slight spelling changes are made, for example in order to maintain the same pronunciation, or because they’re stem-changing verbs.
For example, llegar → llegué NOT llegé.
There aren’t too many of these, and you’ll learn to recognise them as you advance, so don’t worry too much about them right now.
Bonus: verbs that change meaning!
Some verbs can have different English translations in the preterite and imperfect because the preterite can emphasize an event or change, while the imperfect describes an ongoing state or ability. The translations below illustrate common readings; the context still determines the meaning.
| verb | Preterite | Imperfect |
| conocer | I met him for the first time. | I used to know him. |
| poder | I could (I managed to). | I could (the ability was there). |
| saber | I found out. | I knew. |
| tener | I had / I got (depending on context). | I had. |
Test Time!
Complete each sentence with the preterite form of the verb in brackets.
1. Ayer yo _____ con Ana. (hablar)
Show answer
Ayer yo hablé con Ana. (Yesterday I spoke with Ana.)
2. Anoche nosotros _____ en casa. (comer)
Show answer
Anoche nosotros comimos en casa. (Last night we ate at home.)
3. La semana pasada ellos _____ al museo. (ir)
Show answer
La semana pasada ellos fueron al museo. (Last week they went to the museum.)
¡Gracias!
We hope you’ve learnt something from this article. Remember to practice little and often, and if you’re stuck then take it step by step: start with the infinitive, find the stem, then add on the ending.
For more Spanish lessons, get the complete method Spanish e-book with audio. Check out My Spanish Routine below!
