Preterite tense of –ar verbs
What is the preterite tense? To talk about actions that were completed in the past, you use the preterite tense. I buy vs. I bought – yo compro vs. yo compré
Preterite Endings (yo) é (nosotros) amos (tú) aste (vosotros) asteis (él) (ella) ó (Ud.) (ellos) (ellas) aron (Uds.)
Preterite forms of comprar (yo) compré (nosotros) compramos (tú) compraste (vosotros) comprasteis (él) (ella) compró (Ud.) (ellos) (ellas) compraron (Uds.)
I listened. Escuché. They danced. Bailaron. You sang. Cantaste.
-car & -gar endings Verbs that end in –car and –gar have a spelling change in the yo form of the preterite. -car: c qu – Buscar: yo busqué -gar: g gu – Pagar: yo pagué
I practiced. Practiqué. I paid. Pagué. I played (piano). Toqué (el piano).
Irregular Verbs Verbs such as jugar that have a stem change in the present tense do not have a stem change in the preterite. El sábado pasado jugué al tenis. Mis hermanos jugaron al básquetbol.