📝 In Action
¿Qué hiciste anoche?
A1What did you do last night?
Anoche cené con mis amigos en un restaurante nuevo.
A1Last night I had dinner with my friends at a new restaurant.
No dormí bien anoche porque hacía mucho calor.
A2I didn't sleep well last night because it was very hot.
💡 Grammar Points
Your Signal for the Preterite Tense
Anoche points to a specific, completed time in the past. Because of this, it's a huge clue that you should use the preterite tense, the one for finished actions. For example: Anoche comí pizza (Last night I ate pizza).
❌ Common Pitfalls
Confusing 'anoche' with 'la noche'
Mistake: "Fui a la fiesta en la noche."
Correction: Fui a la fiesta anoche. Use `la noche` to mean 'the night' or 'at night' in general (e.g., `Me gusta leer por la noche` - I like to read at night). Use `anoche` specifically for 'last night'.
⭐ Usage Tips
One Word vs. Two
Notice how Spanish uses just one convenient word, anoche, where English needs two, 'last night'. This is a common pattern for basic time words like ayer (yesterday) and hoy (today).
✏️ Quick Practice
💡 Quick Quiz: anoche
Question 1 of 1
Which sentence correctly says 'We watched a movie last night'?
📚 More Resources
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the difference between 'anoche' and 'ayer por la noche'?
They mean the same thing ('last night'), but `anoche` is much more common and natural in everyday conversation. You can use `ayer por la noche` (yesterday in the nighttime) for clarity or emphasis, but 9 times out of 10, `anoche` is the word you'll want to use.
Can I say 'la anoche'?
No, you can't. `Anoche` is an adverb, which is a type of word that describes an action. It doesn't have a gender (masculine/feminine), so it never needs an article like 'el' or 'la' in front of it.