The Preterite Tense: Regular Verbs

What is the Preterite Tense?

The Preterite (el pretérito) is a past tense in Spanish used to describe actions that were completed at a specific point in the past. Think of it as a snapshot of a finished event.

For example:

• Ayer, comí una manzana. (Yesterday, I ate an apple.) - The action is finished.
• Él abrió la puerta. (He opened the door.) - The action is done.

To form the preterite with regular verbs, you just remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add a new ending.

Regular -AR Verb Endings

To conjugate a regular -ar verb, add these endings:

• yo: -é
• tú: -aste
• él/ella/usted: -ó
• nosotros/as: -amos
• vosotros/as: -asteis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes: -aron

Example with hablar (to speak):

• yo hablé
• tú hablaste
• él habló
• nosotros hablamos
• vosotros hablasteis
• ellos hablaron

Regular -ER and -IR Verb Endings

Regular -er and -ir verbs share the exact same endings in the preterite. How convenient!

• yo: -í
• tú: -iste
• él/ella/usted: -ió
• nosotros/as: -imos
• vosotros/as: -isteis
• ellos/ellas/ustedes: -ieron

Example with comer (to eat) and vivir (to live):

• yo comí / viví
• tú comiste / viviste
• él comió / vivió
• nosotros comimos / vivimos
• vosotros comisteis / vivisteis
• ellos comieron / vivieron