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El pretérito.

The Spanish preterite is for completed actions in the past — what you did yesterday, last week, last summer. One discrete event with a beginning and an end. Below: when to use it, how to form it, the time markers that signal it, model sentences, common mistakes, and a 60-second drill to lock it in.

When to use it

Completed actions in the past

Use the preterite when you're talking about something that happened once and finished: a specific event, a specific time, a specific moment. Think of it as the camera shutter sound — one clean snap.

If you find yourself saying "yesterday", "last weekend", "an hour ago", "in 2024" — that's preterite territory. Contrast this with the imperfect, which paints a continuous or habitual past ("used to", "was -ing").

Model sentence

Ayer comí paella en un restaurante.

Yesterday I ate paella in a restaurant.

How to form it

Regular preterite endings

-AR verbs

e.g. hablar — to speak

yohablé
túhablaste
él / ellahabló
nosotroshablamos
vosotroshablasteis
elloshablaron

-ER verbs

e.g. comer — to eat

yocomí
túcomiste
él / ellacomió
nosotroscomimos
vosotroscomisteis
elloscomieron

-IR verbs

e.g. vivir — to live

yoviví
túviviste
él / ellavivió
nosotrosvivimos
vosotrosvivisteis
ellosvivieron

Spot the pattern: -ER and -IR verbs share the same endings (-í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron). Only -AR verbs are different. The accents on yo and él/ella matter — drop them and you've changed the meaning.

Key irregulars

ir / ser to go / to be fui · fuiste · fue · fuimos · fuisteis · fueron
tener to have tuv- · e · iste · o · imos · isteis · ieron
estar to be estuv- · e · iste · o · imos · isteis · ieron
hacer to do / make hic- (3rd hizo) · e · iste · — · imos · isteis · ieron
poder to be able pud- · e · iste · o · imos · isteis · ieron
poner to put pus- · e · iste · o · imos · isteis · ieron
querer to want quis- · e · iste · o · imos · isteis · ieron
venir to come vin- · e · iste · o · imos · isteis · ieron
decir to say dij- · e · iste · o · imos · isteis · eron
traer to bring traj- · e · iste · o · imos · isteis · eron
ver to see vi · viste · vio · vimos · visteis · vieron
dar to give di · diste · dio · dimos · disteis · dieron

Signal words

Time markers — words that scream "preterite!"

If you see any of these in a question, the answer almost certainly needs the preterite. Memorising this grid is the fastest way to win marks in listening and reading.

ayeryesterday
anochelast night
anteayerthe day before yesterday
esta mañanathis morning
la semana pasadalast week
el mes pasadolast month
el año pasadolast year
el verano pasadolast summer
el fin de semana pasadolast weekend
el lunes pasadolast Monday
hace dos añostwo years ago
hace tres semanasthree weeks ago
en 2024in 2024
una vezonce
de repentesuddenly
entoncesthen / so

Model sentences

In real GCSE topics

Free time Ayer jugué al fútbol con mis amigos en el parque. Yesterday I played football with my friends in the park.
Holidays El año pasado fui a España con mi familia y visitamos Barcelona. Last year I went to Spain with my family and we visited Barcelona.
Food Anoche cené paella en un restaurante. Last night I had paella for dinner in a restaurant.
School La semana pasada tuve un examen difícil pero saqué una buena nota. Last week I had a difficult exam but I got a good grade.
Films Vi "La casa de papel" el fin de semana pasado — me encantó. I saw "La Casa de Papel" last weekend — I loved it.
Daily routine Esta mañana me levanté a las siete y desayuné cereales. This morning I got up at seven and ate cereal for breakfast.

Where pupils slip up

Common mistakes

Preterite vs imperfect

era = "used to be / was always" (imperfect). fui = "was once / went" (preterite). Use preterite when the action is one finished event.

Don't drop the accent

hablo = "I speak" (present). habló = "he/she spoke" (preterite). The accent does all the work.

The "we" trap

For -ar and -ir verbs, the "nosotros" form is the same in present and preterite (hablamos, vivimos). Context tells you which tense — usually a time marker.

Irregular yo forms

Watch the unaccented vowels in irregulars: tuve, hice, vine — not tuvé / hicé / viné. Irregulars don't take written accents.

Hizo, not hició

The "él / ella" form of hacer is hizo (with a "z") — a spelling change to keep the soft sound. Same applies to cruzó, empezó.

-ron vs -eron in dij- / traj-

Verbs whose stem ends in -j drop the "i" in the "ellos" form: dijeron, trajeron — not dijieron / trajieron.

Drill · 60-second sprint

Conjugate the preterite

Preterite Sprint

You have 60 seconds. A pronoun + verb appears — pick the correct preterite form from four options. Score one point for each right, no penalty for wrong. Streak resets on a miss.

Best ever: 0

⏱ 60s Aciertos 0 🔥 Racha 0

Conjugate in the preterite

yo —

¡Tiempo!

—

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