Preterite: regular verbs
A2Grammar path · Lesson 25 of 86 · Stage A2 · The past
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) tells what happened and was completed at a specific point in the past: what you did yesterday, where you went last weekend. For regular verbs, drop the -ar, -er or -ir ending and add a new one. -ar verbs take -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -aron (hablé, habló). -er and -ir verbs share -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -ieron (comí, vivió). Watch the accent: hablo means 'I speak', but habló means 'he spoke'. Learners most often confuse it with the imperfect: the preterite is for finished, completed events, while the imperfect is for habits and background description.
Practise this lesson · 9 sentences
Form
sujeto + raíz + -é / -aste / -ó / -amos / -aron (-ar) · -í / -iste / -ió / -imos / -ieron (-er, -ir)sujeto + no + verbo en pretérito¿(palabra interrogativa) + verbo en pretérito + sujeto?When to use it
A completed action at a specific time
Use it for something that happened and ended at a definite moment in the past. It often appears with time words like ayer or anoche.
A sequence of events
When telling a story, each step in a chain of actions goes in the preterite. One thing happens, then the next.
An action lasting a closed period of time
Even if the action lasted a while, use the preterite when the period has clear limits and is over.
Regular preterite: hablar · comer · vivir
Signal words
Don't confuse it with
Regular verbs keep their stem and take an accent in the yo and él forms (hablé, comió). Irregular verbs like tener or ir change the whole stem and usually have no accent (tuve, fue). Note that llegué or busqué only change spelling and still count as regular.
Preterite vs imperfectChoose the preterite when the action is finished, countable or tied to a clear time (ayer comí). If you are describing background, a habit or something in progress, use the imperfect (de niño comía mucho).
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate -ar verbs in the preterite?
Drop -ar and add -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -aron: hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablaron.
Do -er and -ir verbs have different endings?
No, they share -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -ieron: comí, comió and viví, vivió.
Why is it llegué and not 'llegé'?
In the yo form, verbs ending in -car, -gar, -zar change spelling to keep the sound: busqué, llegué, empecé. The other forms stay regular.
Is hablamos present or past?
Both, because -ar and -ir verbs have the same nosotros form in the present and the preterite. Context like ayer tells you it is past.
Does the accent in habló really matter?
Yes: hablo means 'I speak' (present), while habló means 'he spoke'. In speech, the stress falls on the last syllable.
When do I use the preterite instead of the imperfect?
Use the preterite for actions completed at a specific time. Use the imperfect for habits, descriptions or actions in progress in the past.