The Preterite Tense El Pretérito
A. B.C.D.E.F. é aste ó amos ásteis aron Hablar Hablé hablaste habló hablamos hablásteis hablaron Hablar-to talk
í iste ió imos ísteis ieron com com com í iste ió imos ísteis ieron Comer - To eat
í iste ió imos ísteis ieron viv viv viv Vivir - To live
The Preterite tense is used to say what you did. It is used to describe a single completed action in the past. It is often accompanied by a time reference I worked in Spain last year I visited a theme park yesterday I danced on the beach last Monday For example:
You form the preterite tense by taking the -ar,-er or -ir ending off the infinitive of the verb to get to the stem and then add the following endings. Hablar é aste ó amos ásteis aron habl habl habl I talked you talked he/she talked we talked you talked they talked To talk Regular -ar verbs
Por ejemplo: Escuchamos la música Bailaron en la discoteca Viajó en barco ¿Compraste muchos regalos? We listened to music They danced in the nightclub He travelled by boat Did you buy lots of presents?
Comer í iste ió imos ísteis ieron com com com Regular -er verbs To eat I ate you ate he/she ate we ate you ate they ate
Por ejemplo: ¿Bebiste el zumo de naranja? Did you drink the orange juice? Comí caracoles We ate snails Nos conocimos en España We met in Spain
Vivir viv viv viv í iste ió imos ísteis ieron Regular -ir verbs To live I lived you lived he/she lived we lived you lived they lived
Por ejemplo: Viví en una casa I lived in a house Escribieron una carta They wrote a letter Salió con sus amigos She went out with her friends
A. B.C. D. E. F G. H. I. J. K.
¡A Practicar! 1. He worked in the garden 2. We danced in my bedroom 3. They travelled by aeroplane 4. She bought a skirt 5. Did you drink the lemonade? 6. I went out with my friends 7. We ate in a restaurant 8. He lived in Spain 9. I wrote a letter 10. Did you (pl) listen to the radio? Trabajó en el jardín Bailamos en mi dormitorio Viajaron en avión Compré una falda ¿Bebiste la limonada? Salí con mis amigos Comimos en un restaurante Vivió en España Escribí una carta Escuchasteis la radio
Time references Ayer Anoche Anteayer el viernes pasado la semana pasada el fin de semana pasado el mes pasado el año pasado Yesterday Last night The day before yesterday Last Friday Last week Last weekend Last month Last year
A. B.C.D.E.F
A. B. C. D. í iste ió imos isteis ieron