Preterite Tense
The preterite tense is used to refer to actions that occurred at a fixed point in time or number of times in the past; actions that occurred in a fixed time frame; and sudden changes in emotions or opinions.
subject + verb stem + ending
Verb Endings
Irregular Verbs
There are only four irregular verbs:
-
Ser - to be
-
Ir - to go
-
Dar - to give
-
Hacer - to do
Stem-Changing Verbs
Verbs ending in -IR that are stem-changing in the present tense also change in the preterite tense.
However, they only change in the third person singular and plural (he/she & they)
-
E —> I
-
O —> U
Other Forms of Verb Irregularity
Verbs ending in -gar change
-
G —> GU ( jugué )
Verbs ending in -car change
-
C —> QU ( busqué )
Verbs ending in -zar
-
Z —> C ( almorcé )
Verbs ending in -aer, -eer, -oír, and -oer
-
Third person singular – ió —> yó
-
Third person plural – ieron —> yeron
Exceptions to this rule —> traer, atraer
Example Sentences
Fui al colegio ayer y vi mis amigos.
-
I went to school yesterday and saw my friends.
Quisieron ir al cine para ver una película.
-
They wanted to go to the cinema to see a film.
Ser | Ir | Estar | Hacer |
|---|---|---|---|
Fui | Fui | Di | Hice |
Fuiste | Fuiste | Diste | Hiciste |
Fue | Fue | Dio | Hizo |
Fuimos | Fuimos | Dimos | Hicimos |
Fuisteis | Fuisteis | Disteis | Hicisteis |
Fueron | Fueron | Dieron | Hicieron |
Dormir - To Sleep |
|---|
Dormí |
Dormiste |
Durmió |
Dormimos |
Dormisteis |
Durmieron |
Verbs ending in -AR | Verbs ending in -ER and -IR |
|---|---|
é | í |
aste | iste |
ó | ió |
amos | imos |
asteis | isteis |
aron | ieron |
