The preterite tense (el pretérito indefinido) is used for completed actions in the past. It describes actions that have a clear beginning and end.
When to use it
Single, completed actions in the past
Ayer, comí paella
Yesterday, I ate paella
A series of completed actions
Me levanté, me duché y salí
I got up, I showered, and I left
Actions that interrupt another ongoing action
Leía cuando sonó el teléfono
I was reading when the phone rang
Regular endings
| -ar | -er | -ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | -í | -í |
| tú | -aste | -iste | -iste |
| él | -ó | -ió | -ió |
| nos. | -amos | -imos | -imos |
| vos. | -asteis | -isteis | -isteis |
| ellos | -aron | -ieron | -ieron |
Irregular verbs
Completely Irregular
Irregular Stem
Irregular Stem: c → j
Irregular Stem (3rd Person): e → i
Irregular Stem (3rd Person): o → u
Irregular Form
Spelling Change (3rd Person): vowel → y
Spelling Change (yo): car → qué
Spelling Change (yo): gar → gué
Spelling Change (yo): zar → cé
Frequently asked
The preterite tense (el pretérito indefinido) is used for completed actions in the past. It describes actions that have a clear beginning and end. The main cases are single, completed actions in the past, a series of completed actions and actions that interrupt another ongoing action. For example: Ayer, comí paella — Yesterday, I ate paella.
Regular verbs take: -ar: yo -é, tú -aste, él -ó, nos. -amos, vos. -asteis, ellos -aron; -er: yo -í, tú -iste, él -ió, nos. -imos, vos. -isteis, ellos -ieron; -ir: yo -í, tú -iste, él -ió, nos. -imos, vos. -isteis, ellos -ieron.
The most common ones are ser, estar, tener, hacer, poder, decir, haber and ir. Each has its own conjugation table with the full set of forms.
The pretérito indefinido sits at A2 — Elementary, and Verboteca practice is free at A1. The rule, the tables and the examples on this page stay readable without a subscription or an account.
Every verb form becomes a card that comes back right before you would forget it.
