Lesson 14 · 8 min read
The Spanish Preterite: Talking About the Past
The preterite is the tense you reach for to talk about something that happened and finished — "I ate," "she called," "we went." It has its own set of endings, separate from the present tense you've seen so far.
1. Regular -ar verbs (hablar, to speak)
Drop the -ar and add: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| yo hablé | I spoke |
| tú hablaste | you spoke |
| él habló | he spoke |
| nosotros hablamos | we spoke |
| ellos hablaron | they spoke |
2. Regular -er and -ir verbs (comer, vivir)
Both share the same endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| yo comí / viví | I ate / lived |
| tú comiste / viviste | you ate / lived |
| ella comió / vivió | she ate / lived |
| nosotros comimos / vivimos | we ate / lived |
3. Common irregular preterites
A handful of high-frequency verbs don't follow the pattern and are worth memorizing directly.
| Spanish | English | Example |
|---|---|---|
| fui | I went / I was | Fui al cine ayer. — I went to the cinema yesterday. |
| tuve | I had | Tuve una reunión. — I had a meeting. |
| hice | I did / made | ¿Qué hiciste anoche? — What did you do last night? |
| dije | I said | Le dije la verdad. — I told him/her the truth. |