Preterite - Pretérito Indefinido  


The preterite is one of the two simple past tenses in Spanish. It is used when the speaker wants to focus on the beginning or ending of an action in the past.

The table below shows how the preterite is formed for the regular verbs hablar (to speak), correr (to run), and escribir (to write).

Preterite Tense - hablar, correr, and escribir

hablar (full conjugation)(example sentences)

yo hablé (I speak)
hablaste (you speak)
Ud./él/ella habló (you/he/she speaks)
nosotros (as) hablamos (we speak)
vosotros (as) hablasteis (you guys speak)
Uds./ellos/ ellas hablaron (you all/they speak)
correr (full conjugation)(example sentences)

yo corrí (I run)
corriste (you run)
Ud./él/ella corrió (you/he/she runs)
nosotros (as) corrimos (we run)
vosotros (as) corristeis (you guys run)
Uds./ellos/ ellas corrieron (you all/they run)
escribir (full conjugation)(example sentences)

yo escribí (I write)
escribiste (you write)
Ud./él/ella escribió (you/he/she writes)
nosotros (as) escribimos (we write)
vosotros (as) escribisteis (you guys write)
Uds./ellos/ ellas escribieron (you all/they write)
Footnote: yo = I, tú = you (informal), usted (Ud.) = you (formal), él = he, ella = she, nosotros = we (males/mixed group), nosotras = we (females), vosotros = you guys (informal, males/mixed group), vosotras = you guys (informal, females), ellos = they (males/mixed group), ellas = they(females), ustedes (Uds.) = you all (formal)
Uses of the Preterite Past Tense
Escribí una carta a mi abuela.
I wrote a letter to my grandmother.
Llegamos a casa muy tarde anoche.
We got home very late last night.
Mis hermanos jugaron en el parque todo el día.
My brothers played in the park all day.
Additional Information

Pretérito Indefinido de Verbos - Spanish Preterit Preterite Tense - PASSÉ INDÉFINI DES VERBES




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