The preterite
Hablé, comí, fui: what happened.
The preterite tells what happened and is over: something done once, a set number of times, or for a stretch of time that ended.
| hablar | comer | vivir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | comí | viví |
| tú | hablaste | comiste | viviste |
| él, ella, usted | habló | comió | vivió |
| nosotros | hablamos | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros | hablasteis | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | hablaron | comieron | vivieron |
-er and -ir verbs share all their endings. The accent matters: hablo "I speak", habló "he spoke". The "we" forms of -ar and -ir verbs are the same as in the present; the context tells.
- Yesterday I talked to my mother.
- Did you eat anything?
- They lived in Paris for three years.
Spelling keeps the sound in the "I" form: buscar, busqué; llegar, llegué; empezar, empecé. Between vowels, i becomes y: leer, leyó, leyeron.
Irregular preterites
ser and ir share one set of forms; the sentence tells which it is.
| ser, ir | dar | ver | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | fui | di | vi |
| tú | fuiste | diste | viste |
| él, ella, usted | fue | dio | vio |
| nosotros | fuimos | dimos | vimos |
| vosotros | fuisteis | disteis | visteis |
| ellos, ellas, ustedes | fueron | dieron | vieron |
Many common verbs have a new stem and endings without accents: -e for "I" and -o for "he, she".
| Verb | Stem | "I" | "he, she" |
|---|---|---|---|
| tener | tuv- | tuve | tuvo |
| estar | estuv- | estuve | estuvo |
| poder | pud- | pude | pudo |
| poner | pus- | puse | puso |
| saber | sup- | supe | supo |
| venir | vin- | vine | vino |
| querer | quis- | quise | quiso |
| hacer | hic- | hice | hizo |
| decir | dij- | dije | dijo |
The other endings are -iste, -imos, -isteis and -ieron: tuviste, tuvimos, tuvieron. After j, -ieron is -eron: dijeron, trajeron.
-ir verbs that change their stem in the present change e to i and o to u in the "he, she" and "they" forms: pedir, pidió, pidieron; dormir, durmió, durmieron.
- I went to Madrid last year.
- It was an amazing day.
- What did you do on the weekend?
- I couldn't sleep.
Time words
ayer "yesterday", anoche "last night", anteayer "the day before yesterday", la semana pasada "last week", el año pasado "last year", hace dos días "two days ago", en 2010 "in 2010".
Cards from this guide
10 cardsEach card asks about one thing this guide teaches, and its back gives the answer with why and an example. They're reviewed with the rest of the Past, future and commands cards.
What's the 'I' form of hablar in the preterite?
hablé
What's the difference between hablo and habló?
hablo is 'I speak'; habló is 'he spoke'.
What's the 'they' form of comer in the preterite?
comieron
What does fue mean?
'He, she or it was', or 'he, she went'.
What's the 'I' form of tener in the preterite?
tuve
What's the 'he' form of hacer in the preterite?
hizo
What's the 'they' form of decir in the preterite?
dijeron
What's the 'I' form of llegar in the preterite?
llegué
What's the 'he' form of pedir in the preterite?
pidió
How do you say 'two days ago'?
hace dos días