Verbs: Preterite Tense

01

Regular -ar Verbs

To form the preterite of regular -ar verbs, remove the -ar ending and add the preterite endings.

For a verb like hablar (to speak):

• yo hablé
• tú hablaste
• él/ella/usted habló
• nosotros/nosotras hablamos
• ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron

Note that the nosotros form in the preterite is identical to the present tense form. Context will make the meaning clear.

• Anoche hablamos por teléfono.

  Last night we talked on the phone.

• ¿Terminaste la tarea?

  Did you finish the homework?

02

Regular -er and -ir Verbs

Regular -er and -ir verbs share the same set of endings in the preterite.

For a verb like comer (to eat):

• yo comí
• tú comiste
• él/ella/usted comió
• nosotros/nosotras comimos
• ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron

In Mexican Spanish, ustedes is used for the plural "you" in both formal and informal contexts.

• Mi abuela vivió en Puebla por diez años.

  My grandmother lived in Puebla for ten years.

• ¿Qué comieron ustedes anoche?

  What did you all eat last night?

03

Spelling Changes in the 'Yo' Form

Some verbs have a spelling change in the yo form to maintain the original sound of the consonant. This only affects -ar verbs.

Verbs ending in -car (c → qu)

• Yo busqué mis llaves por todas partes.

  I looked for my keys everywhere.

Verbs ending in -gar (g → gu)

• Yo llegué tarde a la chamba.

  I arrived late to work.

Verbs ending in -zar (z → c)

• Yo empecé a estudiar español el año pasado.

  I started studying Spanish last year.

04

Irregular Verbs

Many of the most common verbs are irregular in the preterite. They often have unique stems and a different set of endings with no accent marks.

Ser (to be) and Ir (to go)

These two verbs are identical in the preterite.

• fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron

• Fui al mercado esta mañana.

  I went to the market this morning. (from ir)

• La fiesta fue muy divertida.

  The party was very fun. (from ser)

Dar (to give) and Ver (to see)

These verbs use the regular -er/-ir endings but without the accent marks.

• dar: di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron
• ver: vi, viste, vio, vimos, vieron

• Le di el regalo a mi mamá.

  I gave the gift to my mom.

• ¿Viste el partido de fútbol ayer?

  Did you see the soccer game yesterday?

Verbs with Irregular Stems

A large group of irregular verbs use a new stem and the following endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -ieron.

• tener → tuv- (tuve, tuviste, tuvo...)
• estar → estuv- (estuve, estuviste, estuvo...)
• hacer → hic- (Note: hizo in the 3rd person singular)
• poder → pud-
• poner → pus-
• saber → sup-
• querer → quis-
• venir → vin-

• Tuvimos que salir temprano.

  We had to leave early.

• ¿Qué hiciste el sábado?

  What did you do on Saturday?

Verbs with 'j' Stems

These follow the same pattern as above, but the ellos/ellas/ustedes ending is -eron.

• decir → dij- (dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijeron)
• traer → traj- (traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajeron)
• Verbs ending in -ducir, like conducir → conduj-

• Ellos me dijeron que no.

  They told me no.

• Conduje por tres horas.

  I drove for three hours.

-ir Verbs with Stem Changes

Some -ir verbs that stem-change in the present tense also change in the preterite, but only in the third-person forms (él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes).

• e → i: pedir → pidió, pidieron
• o → u: dormir → durmió, durmieron

• El mesero pidió la orden.

  The waiter took the order.

• El bebé durmió toda la noche.

  The baby slept all night.

Verbs with i → y Spelling Change

For -er and -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel (like leer or oír), the 'i' of the ending changes to 'y' in the third-person forms. These forms also require written accents on the other vowels.

• leer → leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leyeron
• oír → oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oyeron

• Mi papá leyó el periódico.

  My dad read the newspaper.

• ¿Oíste ese ruido?

  Did you hear that noise?