Work Space
Intermediate I
20.
Preterit
Tense Formation (English)
In
Spanish, when we talk about things that happened in the past, the verb endings
change. Just as in the present tense, when we had different endings depending
on the subject, we have different endings for each subject in the preterit also.
To change the ending, you must drop the “ar”, “er” or “ir” and replace it with
the new ending.
This
lesson includes information on:
- Preterit Tense
Conjugation of Regular Verbs
- Related
Vocabulary
1.
Preterit Tense Conjugation of Regular
Verbs
The
Preterit Tense is used to express:
- What happened
and was completed in the past. For
example, "I lived there for two years."
- What happened a
specific number of times in the past. For example, "He ate there 3 times
last week."
Here
is a conjugation example of a regular verb with an "ar"
ending. These same endings are used for all "regular verbs"
that end in "ar",
|
Spanish |
Spanish |
English |
|
Subject |
Infinitive: Hablar (to speak) |
|
|
Yo |
hablé |
I
spoke |
|
Tú |
hablaste |
You
spoke |
|
Usted/él/ella |
habló |
You
(formal)/He/She spoke |
|
Nosotros |
hablamos |
We
spoke |
|
Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas |
hablaron |
You
(plural) spoke/They spoke |
Here
is a conjugation example of a regular verb with an "er"
ending. These same endings are used for all "regular verbs" that end
in "er",
|
Spanish |
Spanish |
English |
|
Subject |
Infinitive: Comer
(to eat) |
|
|
Yo |
comí |
I
ate |
|
Tú |
comiste |
You
ate |
|
Usted/él/ella |
comió |
You
(formal)/He/She ate |
|
Nosotros |
comimos |
We
ate |
|
Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas |
comieron |
You
(plural) speak/They ate |
Here
is a conjugation example of a regular verb with an "ir"
ending. These same endings are used for all "regular verbs" that end
in "ir"
|
Spanish |
Spanish |
English |
|
Subject |
Infinitive: Vivir (to live) |
|
|
Yo |
viví |
I
lived |
|
Tú |
viviste |
You
lived |
|
Usted/él/ella |
vivió |
You
(formal)/He/She lived |
|
Nosotros |
vivimos |
We
lived |
|
Ustedes/Ellos/Ellas |
vivieron |
You
(plural) speak/They lived |
2. Related
Vocabulary
|
Spanish |
English Translation |
|
Hablar |
To
speak |
|
Yo hablé |
I
spoke |
|
Tú hablaste |
You
spoke |
|
Usted habló |
You
(formal) spoke |
|
Él/ella habló |
He/She spoke |
|
Nosotros hablamos |
We
spoke |
|
Ustedes hablaron |
You
spoke |
|
Ellos/ellas hablaron |
They
spoke |
|
Comer
|
To
eat |
|
Yo comí |
I
ate |
|
Tú comiste |
You
ate |
|
Usted comió |
You
(formal) ate |
|
Él/ella comió |
He/She ate |
|
Nosotros comimos |
We
ate |
|
Ustedes comieron |
You
ate |
|
Ellos/Ellas comieron |
They
ate |
|
Vivir |
To
live |
|
Yo viví |
I
lived |
|
Tú viviste |
You
lived |
|
Usted vivió |
You
(formal) lived |
|
Él/ella vivió |
He/She lived |
|
Nosotros vivimos |
We
lived |
|
Ustedes vivieron |
You
(plural) lived |
|
Ellos/ellas vivieron |
They
lived |
|
Aceptar |
To
accept |
|
Acompañar |
To
accompany |
|
Aconsejar |
To
advise |
|
Arreglar |
To
fix |
|
Aumentar |
To
increase |
|
Averiguar |
To
find out |
|
Bailar |
To
dance |
|
Bajar |
To
descend |
|
Celebrar |
To
celebrate |
|
Cantar |
To
sing |
|
Cenar |
To
have dinner |
|
Cocinar |
To
cook |
|
Colocar |
To
put/place |
|
Cortar |
To
cut |
|
Cruzar |
To
cross |
|
Dejar |
To
let/leave |
|
Dibujar |
To
draw |
|
Doblar |
To
fold/turn |
|
Durar |
To
last |
|
Echar |
To
throw |
|
Empujar |
To
push |
|
Entregar |
To
turn in |
|
Esperar |
To
wait |
|
Esquiar |
To
ski |
|
Estacionar |
To
park |
|
Firmar |
To
sign |
|
Grabar |
To
record |
|
Ganar |
To
win |
|
Gastar |
To
spend |
|
Cerrar |
To
close |
|
Confesar |
To
confess |
|
Contar |
To
tell |
|
Costar
|
To
cost |
|
Despertar |
To
wake up |
|
Encontrar |
To
find |
|
Mostrar |
To
show |
|
Mover
|
To
move |
|
Devolver |
To
return |
|
Recordar |
To
remember |
|
Soñar |
To
sound |
|
Resolver
|
To
resolve |
|
Llover |
To
rain |
|
Volver |
To
return |
|
Recomendar |
To
recommend |
|
Sentar(se) |
To
sit down |
|
Defender
|
To
defend |
|
Encender |
To
turn on |
|
Entender |
To
understand |
|
Perder |
To
lose |
|
Pensar |
To
think |
|
Nacer |
To
be born |
|
Agradecer |
To
thank |
|
Merecer |
To
deserve |
|
Parecer |
To
seem |
|
Desaparecer |
To
disappear |
|
Aparecer |
To
appear |
|
Pertenecer |
To
pertain to |
|
Obedecer |
To
obey |
|
Conocer |
To
know |