The Preterite

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. For more information see use of the preterite.

Let's look at the regular verb caminar (to walk).

Yo caminé - I walked
El caminó - He walked

Yo caminé al parque. - I walked to the park.

The regular verb correr (to run).

Yo corrí - I ran
Nosotros corrimos - We ran

Nosotros corrimos hacia su casa. - We ran toward his house.

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