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PRETERITE TENSE  

 

The Preterite Tense is very often called the simple past tense or in Spanish Preterito Perfecto Simple.  This is the first past tense and is used to describe an action in the past which has happened once.   Very often there is a timescale used with this tense such as yesterday (ayer), last week (la semana pasada) or even the word once (una vez).  Note there are two different patterns.  One for AR verbs and another for ER and IR verbs.

 

AR 

 

PERSON  PRETERITE OR PAST TENSE 

Ar eg. HABLAR 

TO SPEAK 
I  Yo I   spoke HABLÉ
You Tú You spoke  HABLASTE 
He / She / Usted Él / Ella / Usted He / she spoke  HABLÓ
We Nosotros (as)  We spoke HABLAMOS 
You Vosotros  (as)  You spoke HABLASTEIS 
They / Ustedes Ellos / Ellas/ Ustedes They spoke HABLARON 

 

ER 

PERSON  PRETERITE OR PAST TENSE 

ER eg.COMER 

TO EAT
I  Yo I ate COMÍ
You Tú You ate COMISTE 
He / She / Usted Él / Ella / Usted He / she ate  COMIÓ
We Nosotros (as)  We ate COMIMOS 
You Vosotros  (as)  You ate COMISTEIS 
They / Ustedes Ellos / Ellas/ Ustedes They ate COMIERON 

 

IR 

PERSON  PRETERITE OR PAST TENSE 

IR eg.VIVIR 

TO LIVE 
I  Yo I lived VIVÍ
You Tú You lived VIVISTE 
He / She / Usted Él / Ella / Usted He / she lived  VIVIÓ
We Nosotros (as)  We lived VIVIMOS 
You Vosotros  (as)  You lived VIVISTEIS 
They / Ustedes Ellos / Ellas/ Ustedes They lived VIVIERON