Preterite past tense
Type the missing word in each sentence. You hear each sentence read by a native voice.
Ella se (centrarse) en su trabajo.
She focused on her work.
The rule
The preterite is the past tense for completed events: things that started and finished. It pairs with time markers like ayer, anoche, and la semana pasada. This lesson covers the regular endings, the most common irregular verbs, and the spelling changes you need to get the forms right.
The pattern
Regular -ar verbs:
| Subject | Ending | Example (hablar) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | hablé |
| tú | -aste | hablaste |
| él/ella/usted | -ó | habló |
| nosotros | -amos | hablamos |
| vosotros/as (Spain) | -asteis | hablasteis |
| ellos/ustedes | -aron | hablaron |
Regular -er/-ir verbs:
| Subject | Ending | Example (comer) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -í | comí |
| tú | -iste | comiste |
| él/ella/usted | -ió | comió |
| nosotros | -imos | comimos |
| vosotros/as (Spain) | -isteis | comisteis |
| ellos/ustedes | -ieron | comieron |
Common irregular stems use special endings (yo -e, tú -iste, él -o, nosotros -imos, ellos -ieron): hic- (hacer), tuv- (tener), estuv- (estar), pud- (poder), pus- (poner), dij- (decir), traj- (traer), sup- (saber), vin- (venir), quis- (querer). After j, the ellos form drops the i: dijeron, trajeron.
Ser and ir share the same forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. Context tells you which is meant.
Dar is irregular: di, diste, dio, dimos, dieron.
Some -ir verbs change their stem only in the él and ellos forms: dormir becomes durmió/durmieron, pedir becomes pidió/pidieron.
Spelling changes in yo: -car becomes -qué (busqué), -gar becomes -gué (llegué), -zar becomes -cé (empecé).
Hacer has one more spelling change: the él form is hizo, with z (never hico), to keep the soft s sound before o.
Examples
- Ayer comí con mi hermanaYesterday I ate with my sister
- El sábado fui al cineOn Saturday I went to the movies
- Ayer hizo mucho calorIt was very hot yesterday
- Nosotros tuvimos una reunión cortaWe had a short meeting
- Ella durmió ocho horasShe slept for eight hours
- Yo busqué mi teléfonoI looked for my phone
- Ellos dijeron la verdadThey told the truth
Watch out
- Yo haceo la cena. Yo hice la cena.Hacer is irregular in the preterite and uses the stem hic-.
- Yo comi, él comio. Yo comí, él comió.Written accents on regular yo and él forms are required.
- Ella dormió anoche. Ella durmió anoche.Dormir changes o to u in the él and ellos preterite forms.
- Yo buscé mi cartera. Yo busqué mi cartera.Verbs ending in -car change c to qu before -é to keep the k sound.