Learn how to use the Spanish preterite tense (pretérito indefinido) with regular verbs ending in -ar, -er, and -ir. This lesson covers conjugation patterns, accent usage, and practical examples like "pregunté" and "vivió," to help you describe completed past actions clearly and confidently.
- We use the simple past to talk about completed actions in the past.
- To form the pretérito indefinido of regular verbs ending in "-ar", the endings "-é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron" are added.
- For verbs that end in -er and -ir, the endings -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron are added.
| Persona | Verbo -AR: Preguntar | Verbo -IR: Vivir |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | Pregunté al reportero algunas noticias | Viví en esa casa |
| Tú | Preguntaste del programa | Viviste en Madrid |
| Él/Ella | Preguntó sobre su trabajo | Vivió con sus padres |
| Nosotros/as | Preguntamos del pasado | Vivimos en Valencia |
| Vosotros/as | Preguntasteis las noticias actuales | Vivisteis cerca del parque |
| Ellos/Ellas | Preguntaron ver un programa | Vivieron preocupados |
Exceptions!
- The accent is important in the first and third person singular because it shows the difference between present and past simple.
Exercise 1: El pretérito indefinido: Los verbos regulares
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
pregunté, navegamos, preguntasteis, volvió, volvimos, vieron, volviste, reaccionamos
1.
Después del reportaje, nosotros ... con sorpresa.
(After the report, we reacted with surprise.)
2.
¿Tú ... a ver ese programa anoche?
(Did you watch that programme again last night?)
3.
Los estudiantes ... un programa.
(The students watched a programme.)
4.
Vosotros ... cuándo verían las noticias actuales.
(You asked when they would see the current news.)
5.
Después de cenar, nosotros ... a ver las noticias.
(After dinner, we watched the news again.)
6.
Nosotros ... por internet tras el noticiero.
(We surfed the internet after the news.)
7.
Yo ... sobre el reportaje en la televisión.
(I asked about the report on television.)
8.
Mi padre ... tarde tras ver el programa.
(My father came back late after watching the programme.)
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Select the correct sentence using the simple past tense of regular and irregular verbs, according to the context and the rules of the past tense.
1.
Error: missing accent on the first person singular. 'Pregunte' without accent is the present subjunctive; it should be 'pregunté' with an accent for simple past.
Error: the word is misspelled. The correct form is 'pregunté', with 'nt', not 'preguté'.
2.
Error: 'viviste' is the form for 'tú' (second person singular), but the implicit subject here is first person singular, so it doesn't agree.
Error: although the conjugation is correct, repeating 'yo' with the verb already personally conjugated is unnecessary in spoken Spanish and may sound redundant in this context.
3.
Error: the correct form is 'pudiste' with 'd', because it is an irregular verb. 'Podiste' does not exist.
Error: 'pudisteis' is the form for 'vosotros/as', but the question implicitly uses 'tú', second person singular.
4.
Error: this option is a duplicate correct and should be different to avoid confusion. It should be replaced so that only one is correct.
Error: 'comemos' is in present tense, which does not correspond with the past time adverb 'last night'. It should be 'comimos'.