Spanish Preterite Tense
In Spanish, you tell who is performing an action, and when they did, by looking at the end of the verb. In their original "To" form, Spanish verbs end in either -AR, -ER, or -IR. These endings must be removed and then replaced by another ending to reflect the doer, and the tense.
The Preterite, or Simple Past, Tense is used to describe action that occurred once, or to simply talk about what happened in the past in general (i.e., I ate pizza for dinner).
Examples:
- To use – Usar
- To open – Abrir
I used a hammer. – Usé un martillo.
I opened the program. – Abrí el programa.
Preterite Tense Endings (Regular Verbs)
| Person | -AR Verbs | -ER/ -IR Verbs |
|---|---|---|
| I | -é | -í |
| You (informal) | -aste | -iste |
| He/ She/ It / You (formal) | -ó | -ió |
| We | -amos | -imos |
| You all/ They | -aron | -ieron |
Examples of Conjugated Verbs
Cerrar (to close):
- Cerré (I closed)
- Cerraste (You closed)
- Cerró (He/She/You closed)
- Cerramos (We closed)
- Cerraron (They/You all closed)
Correr (to run):
- Corrí (I ran)
- Corriste (You ran)
- Corrió (He/She/You ran)
- Corrimos (We ran)
- Corrieron (They/You all ran)
Recibir (to receive):
- Recibí (I received)
- Recibiste (You received)
- Recibió (He/She/You received)
- Recibimos (We received)
- Recibieron (They/You all received)
Type the conjugation of each verb in the Preterite Tense.
A yellow result message means you are missing an accent mark.
Copy and paste any of these if needed: é, í, or ó.
| To skate | To sell | To talk | To drink | To need |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Patinar | Vender | Hablar | Beber | Necesitar |
| To open | To send | To write | To eat | To leave |
| Abrir | Mandar | Escribir | Comer | Salir |
Pronouns
Yo (I)
Tú (You)
Él/ Ella (He/ She)
Nosotros (We)
Ustedes (You all)
Ellos (They)
Skated
Spoke
Sent
Needed
Ate
Drank
Sold
Left
Wrote
Opened