El Pretérito

The PRETERITE tense is used to talk about completed actions in

the past. It is used:

• in telling stories and for events that were completed in the past. • for actions in the past which happened only once. • for actions that were repeated but finished in the past. • for actions that were part of a chain of events. • for actions that took place over a specific period of time. Useful

expressions of time: ayer, anteayer, la semana pasada, el mes/año pasado, el otro día, hace dos días/semanas/meses, el domingo, en 1950, en Navidad…

• Examples: • Viví cinco años en Madrid. I lived in Madrid for five years.• Él cenó, vio la tele y se acostó. He had dinner, watched TV

and went to bed.• Ayer te llamé por teléfono. I rang you yesterday.

El pretérito es usado para hablar de acciones que fueron completadas en el pasado.

• Para contar historias y eventos que ya terminaron en el pasado.

• Para eventos en el pasado que sucedieron una sola vez.

• Para acciones repetidas, pero que ya terminaron en el pasado.

• Para acciones que sucedieron en un determinado punto en el tiempo. Expresiones útiles: ayer, anteayer, la semana pasada, el mes/año pasado, el otro día, hace dos días/semanas/meses, el domingo, en 1950, en Navidad…

• Examples:

• Viví cinco años en Madrid. I lived in Madrid for five years.

• Él cenó, vio la tele y se acostó. He had dinner, watched TV and went to bed.

• Ayer te llamé por teléfono. I rang you yesterday.

El pretérito

• -ar verbs example:

•hablar

•habléhablastehablóhablamoshablasteishablaron

• -er verbs, -ir verbs Examples: comer, vivir

comícomistecomiócomimoscomisteiscomieron

•vivívivistevivióvivimosvivisteisvivieron

There are two sets of regular endings to learn:1. -AR 2. -ER/ -IRAs with other tenses you have to:1. take the infinitive, take off the infinitive ending and add the endings for the tense.

• aceptar = to accept cantar = to sing llenar = to fill

• amar = to love charlar = to chat llorar = to cry

• arreglar = to fix dibujar = to draw mirar = to look at

• ayudar = to help entrar = to go in saltar = to jump

• bajar = to go down ganar = to win viajar = to travel

• bailar = to dance lavar = to wash

Practise saying or writing out these other verbs.

• beber = to drink

• Meter = to put

• correr = to run

• vender = to sell

• coser = to sew

Practise saying or writing out these other verbs.

• batir = to beat

• escribir = to write

• cubrir = to cover

• permitir = to allow

• recibir = to receive

The Preterite

Stem changing verbs

1. Verbs which end in –GAR change to GUÉ2. Verbs which end in –CAR change to QUÉ3. Verbs which end in –ZAR change to CÉ

• Jugar: to play• jugué I played• jugaste you played• jugó he/she/it played• jugamos we played• jugasteis you played• jugaron they played

• explicar = to explain• expliqué I explained• explicaste you explained• explicó he/she/it explained• explicamos we explained• explicasteis you explained• explicaron they explained

• cruzar = to cross• crucé I crossed• cruzaste you crossed• cruzó he/she/it crossed• cruzamos we crossed• cruzasteis you crossed• cruzaron they crossed

All these verbs work in the same way. Can you write out

three of them in full?

• apagar = to put out acercarse = to approach

• cazar = to hunt cargar = to load

• atacar = to attack empezar = to begin

• descargar = to unload buscar = to look for

• organizar = to organize entregar = to hand over

• secar = to dry rezar = to pray

• llegar = to arrive pescar = to fish

• utilizar = to use navegar = to sail

• chocar contra = to crash into pagar = to pay

• sacar = to take out regar= to water

• marcar = to score a goal, tocar= to touch

• dial a number

For verbs ending in -aer, -eer, -oír and -oer changes occur in the 3rd person forms (singular & plural): -ió changes to -yo; -ieron changes to -yeron. For verbs ending in -uir changes occur in the same way.

• Verb 1st person 3rd person 3rd person

• singular singular plural

• caer* = to fall caí cayó cayeron

• leer* = to read leí leyó leyeron• oír* = to hear oí oyó oyeron• roer* = to nibble roí royó royeron• destruir = to destroy destruí destruyó destruyeron

• construir = to build construí construyó construyeron• huir = to run away huí huyó huyeron

-ar and -er verbs that change their stem in the present tense E<IE

do not change in the preterite.

• Presente Preterito

• cierro cerré

• cierras cerraste

• cierra cerró

• cerramos cerramos

• cerráis cerrasteis

• cierran cerraron

-ir verbs that change their stem in the present do change in the

preterite.

1. o > u – the first change is o > u and it occurs in the third person

forms (singular & plural).

• Dormir dormí durmió durmieron

• Morir morí murió murieron

2. e > i Changes also occur in the third person forms (singular &

plural).

• Pedir pedí pidió pidieron

• Preferir preferí prefirió prefirieron

• En el restaurante Paco pidió tortilla de carne.

• Paco asked for a meat omelette in the restaurant.

• Mis amigos pidieron una paella enorme.

• My friends ordered an enormous paella.

What would the third person singular and plural be for each of the verbs below?

• despedirse de = to say goodbye to

• divertirse = to enjoy oneself

• hervir = to boil

• pedir = to ask for

• preferir = to prefer

• rendirse = to surrender

• repetir = to repeat

• seguir = to follow

• sentir = to feel, to be sorry

• servir = to serve

• vestirse = to get dressed

• se despidió se despidieron

• se divirtió se divirtieron

• hirvió hirvieron

• pidió pidieron

• prefirió prefirieron

• rindió rindieron

• repitió repitieron

• siguió siguieron

• sintió sintieron

• sirvió sirvieron

• se vistió se vistieron

PONER = to put

There are no accents on these verbs. Just learn the first person and then put the endings on the new stem. The endings are almost the same as for regular -er and -ir verbs.

Yo puseTú pusiste

Él pusoElla pusoÉste puso

Nosotros pusimosVosotros pusisteis

Ellos pusieron

Verbs which follow the same pattern as poner:

• Verb stem 1st person• andar - to walk anduv anduve• estar - to be estuv estuve• obtener - to obtain obtuv obtuve• tener - to have tuv tuve• hacer - to do hic hice• poder - to be able pud pude• saber - to know sup supe• suponer - to suppose supus supuse• venir - to come vin vine• querer - to love/want quis quise• conducir - to drive conduj conduje• traer - to bring traj traje• producir - to produce produj produje• decir* - to say dij dije

• Note:

• hacer has a different stem in the 3rd person singular – hizo

Some very important verbs!

• hacer = to do / make

• hice I did / I made

• hiciste You did / you made

• hizo He/she/it did / made

• hicimos We did / we made

• hicisteis You did / you made

• hicieron They did / they made

• estar = to be

• estuve I was

• estuviste You were

• estuvo He/she/it was

• estuvimos We were

• estuvisteis You were

• estuvieron They were

• Note: Hacer has a different stem in the 3rd person singular – hizo

Notice ser and ir share the same forms• ser = to be + ir = to go

• I was fui I went

• You were fuiste • You went• He/she/it was fue • He/she/ it went • We were fuimos

We went• You were fuisteis

You went• They were fueron

They went

Notice ser and ir share the same forms

Practise using the preterite of estar, ir, hacer and ser by writing out these sentences in Spanish.

• Yesterday I went to the cinema.

• It was a fantastic film.

• Before I went to the cinema I did my homework.

• He was a great soldier and a wonderful father.

• My grandfather went to Australia in 1960.

• They went to the hairdresser’s.

• The boys made their beds for the first time!

• It was a great day and the weather was very good.

Soluciones

• 1. Ayer fui al cine.

• 2. Fue una película fenomenal.

• 3. Antes de ir al cine hice los deberes.

• 4. Fue un gran soldado y un padre maravilloso.

• 5. Mi abuelo fue a Australia en mil novecientos sesenta (1960).

• 6. Fueron a la peluquería.

• 7. ¡Por primera vez los chicos hicieron sus camas! • 8. Fue un día fantástico e hizo muy buen tiempo.

¡Felicitaciones!