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Spanish 1 Unit 6: Talking about the past

The preterite tense describes completed actions in the past.

Covers: Preterite of regular -ar, -er, -ir verbs, ir and ser in the preterite, time expressions (ayer, anoche)

Study guide

The preterite tense describes completed actions at a specific time in the past: "I spoke," "she ate." For regular -ar verbs like hablar, the endings are -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron: hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablaron. For regular -er and -ir verbs like comer and vivir, the endings are -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comieron. The accents on the yo and él forms are essential: hablo means "I speak," but habló means "he spoke."

The nosotros form of -ar and -ir verbs is the same in the present and preterite (hablamos, vivimos), so context tells you the time. Some verbs have spelling changes in the yo form to keep their sound: -car → -qué (busqué), -gar → -gué (llegué), -zar → -cé (empecé). Verbs like leer change i to y in the third person: leyó, leyeron.

Ir and ser share the same irregular preterite forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron. Context makes the meaning clear: Fui al cine (I went to the movies) versus Fue un buen día (it was a good day). Other common irregular preterites include hacer (hice, hizo) and tener (tuve).

Time expressions signal the preterite: ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), anteayer (the day before yesterday), la semana pasada (last week), el año pasado (last year), el lunes pasado (last Monday) and hace dos días (two days ago).

Dar takes -er/-ir endings without accents in the preterite: di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron. Ver is similar: vi, viste, vio, vimos, vieron. Hacer conjugates as hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicieron, with a c to z spelling change in hizo. Stem-changing -ir verbs change only in the third person of the preterite: e → i (pedir → pidió, pidieron) and o → u (dormir → durmió, durmieron). -Ar and -er stem-changers don't change in the preterite (pensé, volví).

Key ideas

• -ar endings: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -aron.
• -er and -ir endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -ieron.
• Accents matter: hablo (I speak) vs habló (he spoke).
• ir and ser share preterite forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron.
• Past time words: ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), la semana pasada (last week).

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Dropping the accent: hablo vs habló.
• Using -aron endings on -er verbs (comaron ✗).

Words to know

ayer

yesterday

anoche

last night

anteayer

the day before yesterday

la semana pasada

last week

el año pasado

last year

el mes pasado

last month

el sábado pasado

last Saturday

hace dos días

two days ago

primero

first

luego

then

finalmente

finally

buscar

to look for

llegar

to arrive

empezar

to begin

pagar

to pay

practicar

to practice

tocar

to play (an instrument) / to touch

comenzar

to begin / to start

visitar

to visit

regresar

to return

pasar

to spend (time) / to pass

terminar

to finish

ganar

to win / to earn

salir

to leave / to go out

volver

to return

ver

to see

perder

to lose

conocer

to meet / to know (a person or place)

ayudar

to help

limpiar

to clean

lavar los platos

to wash the dishes

hacer la cama

to make the bed

sacar la basura

to take out the trash

pasar la aspiradora

to vacuum

poner la mesa

to set the table

arreglar

to straighten up / to fix

la cocina

the kitchen

el baño

the bathroom

la sala

the living room

el dormitorio

the bedroom

Sample practice questions

27 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.