ConjugatingVerbs in the

Preterite Tense

Steps to conjugate in the Preterite

1. Find the stem by dropping the last

two letters off of the infinitive.ie...habl – ar

2. Add the regular preterite endings.

AR Endings• To describe completed actions

in the past.

é amosaste

ó aron

ER and IR Endings• To describe completed actions

in the past.

í imosiste

ió ieron

Watch out for Orthographic spelling changes

We cannot change the original sound of a letter by conjugating:

This happens PRIMARILY with the yo form of AR verbs whose stems end in C,G,or Z

c - qug - gu

z - c

Sentence Examples• Hablé con mi hermana ayer.• I talked with my sister yesterday.

• Juan bailó el lunes.• Juan danced on Monday.

• Tomaste los refrescos a la fiesta.• You drank soft drinks at the party.

Sentence Examples (Cont.)

• Limpiaron la casa.• They cleaned the house.

• Cantamos en el gimnasio después deljuego.

• We sang in the gym after the game.

Comprehension Questions

• Which boxes contain accents?• Box 1 and 3

• How do you conjugate the verb NADAR in the preterite tú

form?• Nadaste

Comprehension Questions• How do you conjugate the verb ESTUDIAR in the preterite nosotros form?• Estudiamos• What are the endings for the –AR verbs in the preterite tense?

é amos aste

ó aron

Comprehension Questions (Cont.)

• What is do you use to use the preterite to describe?

• completed events in the past

Practice Conjugating

Conjugate the following regular verbs in the preterite tense:

estudiar hablar sacar

comer vivirescribir

manejar leer repasar