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IndicativeA2
Preterite (pretérito indefinido)
For completed past actions and for a sequence of events.
Usage
For completed past actions and for a sequence of events.
Formation
Regular endings
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo (I) | -é | -í | -í |
| tú (you) | -aste | -iste | -iste |
| él/ella (he/she) | -ó | -ió | -ió |
| nosotros (we) | -amos | -imos | -imos |
| vosotros (you, pl.) | -asteis | -isteis | -isteis |
| ellos/ellas (they) | -aron | -ieron | -ieron |
Rules
61When to use it
For single completed actions and for a chain of events in the past.
- Ayer hablé con mi madre. — Yesterday I spoke with my mother.completed
- Comí, viví y dormí allí. — I ate, lived and slept there.sequence
2Regular endings
-ar: é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron; -er/-ir: í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron.
- Hablaste mucho. — You talked a lot.
- Comieron en casa. — They ate at home.
- Vivió en Madrid. — He/She lived in Madrid.
3Strong irregular stems
New stem plus unstressed endings e, iste, o, imos, isteis, ieron (no accent).
- Tuve que trabajar. — I had to work.tener > tuv-
- Estuvimos en casa. — We were at home.estar > estuv-
- No pude dormir. — I couldn't sleep.poder > pud-
4decir, hacer and querer
dij- drops the i in dijeron; hacer becomes hizo (z); querer becomes quis-.
- Me dijo la verdad. — He/She told me the truth.decir > dij-
- Hizo la cena. — He/She made dinner.c becomes z
- Quise ayudar. — I wanted to help.querer > quis-
5fui for ser/ir and ó>u
ser and ir share fui, fue; -ir verbs change o to u in the 3rd person: durmió.
- Fui al cine. — I went to the cinema.ir
- Fue un buen día. — It was a good day.ser
- El niño durmió bien. — The child slept well.o becomes u
6Spelling change in the 1st person
Before -é, c>qu, g>gu, z>c, so the sound stays the same.
- Busqué las llaves. — I looked for the keys.buscar
- Llegué tarde. — I arrived late.llegar
- Empecé a leer. — I started to read.empezar
Examples
- Ella vivió diez años en París. — She lived ten years in Paris.
- Tuvimos un problema, pero lo hicimos bien. — We had a problem, but we did it well.
- Dijeron que no quisieron venir. — They said they didn't want to come.
- Comimos y luego dormimos. — We ate and then we slept.
Conjugate
Test
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