1. EL TIEMPO PRETRITOThe preterite tense is used to express actions that began and ended at a definite time in the past.1. -AR VerbsCompare the endings of the -ar verb hablar in the present tense and the preterite tense.subject present tense subject preterite tense meaningyo hablo yo habl I spoke, did speakt hablas t hablaste you spoke, did speaklellaustedhablalellaustedhablhe spoke, did speakshe spoke, did speakyou spoke, did speaknosotrosnosotrashablamos* nosotrosnosotrashablamos* we spoke, did speakvosotrosvosotrashablis vosotrosvosotrashablasteis you spoke, did speakellosellasustedeshablanellosellasustedeshablaronthey spoke, did speakyou spoke, did speak*Note that the present and preterite tense nosotros forms are identical.2. -ER and -IR VerbsThe -er and -ir verbs, if you recall, have almost the same endings in the present tense. In the preteritetense, their endings are identical. Look at the following table for a comparison of the present andpreterite tenses of the verbs comer and vivir.subject present of comer preterite of comer present of vivir preterite of viviryo como com vivo vivt comes comiste vives vivistelellaustedcome comi vive vivinosotrosnosotrascomemos comimos vivimos* vivimos*vosotrosvosotrascomis comisteis vivs vivisteisellosellasustedescomen comieron viven vivieron*Note that the present and preterite tense nosotros forms of the ir verbs are identical.Notice that there are accent marks on the endings in the yo form and the l, ella and usted forms.Page 1 of 1 http://dlc.k12.ar.us PRETERITEThis material is the property of the AR Dept. of Education. It may be used and reproduced for non-profit, educational purposes only after contacting the ADE Distance Learning Center. RFS