El pretérito
Regular Forms
-ar verbs
| hablar | |
|---|---|
| yo | hablé |
| tú | hablaste |
| él/ella/Ud. | habló |
| nosotros/as | hablamos |
| vosotros/as | hablasteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | hablaron |
-er and -ir verbs
| comer | vivir | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comí | viví |
| tú | comiste | viviste |
| él/ella/Ud. | comió | vivió |
| nosotros/as | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros/as | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | comieron | vivieron |
Irregular Forms
A change in 3rd person singular (él/ella/Ud.) and 3rd person plural (ellos/as/Uds.):
| pedir | morir | influir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | pedí | morí | influí |
| tú | pediste | moriste | influiste |
| él/ella/Ud. | pidió | murió | influyó |
| nosotros/as | pedimos | morimos | influimos |
| vosotros/as | pedisteis | moristeis | influisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | pidieron | murieron | influyeron |
Other verbs that follow a similar pattern:
| e → i | o → u | i → y |
|---|---|---|
| despedirse | dormir | leer |
| divertirse | oír | |
| preferir | contribuir | |
| vestirse | huir | |
| sentirse | distribuir | |
| consentir |
A change in spelling to maintain the correct sound in the 1st person singular (yo):
| c → qu | g → gu | z → c | gu → gü | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | expliqué | llegué | empecé | averigüé |
Other verbs that follow a similar pattern:
| c → qu | g → gu | z → c | gu → gü |
|---|---|---|---|
| explicar | llegar | empezar | averiguar |
| buscar | jugar | comenzar | atestiguar |
| indicar | pagar | cruzar | |
| sacar |
A verb that adopts a different stem, and will usually have these endings (note that endings do not have an accent):
| Endings | andar → anduv- | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -e | anduve |
| tú | -iste | anduviste |
| él/ella/Ud. | -o | anduvo |
| nosotros/as | -imos | anduvimos |
| vosotros/as | -isteis | anduvisteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | -ieron | anduvieron |
Other verbs that also have a stem change:
| Verb | Stem |
|---|---|
| estar | estuv- |
| haber | hub- |
| poder | pud- |
| poner | pus- |
| saber | sup- |
| tener | tuv |
| hacer | hic- (hiz- in 3rd singular) |
| querer | quis- |
| venir | vin- |
| conducir | conduj- |
| decir | dij- |
| producir | produj- |
| traducir | traduj- |
| traer | traj- |
Completely irregular forms:
| ir | ser | ver | dar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | fui | fui | vi | di |
| tú | fuiste | fuiste | viste | diste |
| él/ella/Ud. | fue | fue | vio | dio |
| nosotros/as | fuimos | fuimos | vimos | dimos |
| vosotros/as | fuisteis | fuisteis | visteis | disteis |
| ellos/ellas/Uds. | fueron | fueron | vieron | dieron |
Uses of the Preterite
To indicate the beginning or end of an action, even or state in the past. There is no emphasis on the duration, but rather on a specific moment in time.
- El verano pasado Katie fue a España.
- Last summer Katie went to Spain.
- Se quedó en un piso en Madrid.
- She stayed at a flat in Madrid.
- Estuvo allí por seis semanas.
- She was there for six weeks.
- Conoció a mucha gente y hizo muchos buenos amigos.
- She met a lot of people and she made many good friends.
- Viajó a Barcelona dos veces y a Sevilla tres veces.
- She traveled to Barcelona two times and to Sevilla three times.
- Estuvo contenta durante toda la estancia.
- She was happy during the whole stay.
In all of these sentences the actions, events and states are viewed as being completed in the past and not in progress. Either a beginning or an end is being described. For example, in the following sentence Katie has begun to know many people (conoció) and has finished with making lots of friends (hizo).
- Conoció a mucha gente y hizo muchos buenos amigos.
- She met a lot of people and she made many good friends.
It really doesn’t matter if what is being described is a beginning or an end in the past because both are expressed using the preterit in Spanish. What is important is that the action, event, or state (emotional or physical) is being described as complete.