The Spanish Preterite: Talking About Finished Actions
How to form and use the preterite tense for completed past events, with regular endings and common irregulars.
The preterite describes actions that were completed in the past.
Regular endings
Hablar:
- hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron
Comer and vivir share endings:
- comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron
- viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron
Note the accents on hablé, habló, comí and comió.
When to use it
- Single, finished events: Ayer comí paella. Yesterday I ate paella.
- Actions with a defined time: Llegamos a las ocho.
- A sequence of events: Me levanté, desayuné y salí.
Common irregulars
| Verb | Yo | Él |
|---|---|---|
| ser / ir | fui | fue |
| hacer | hice | hizo |
| tener | tuve | tuvo |
| estar | estuve | estuvo |
| decir | dije | dijo |
| poder | pude | pudo |
| venir | vine | vino |
| dar | di | dio |
Ser and ir share the same preterite forms, so context tells you which is meant: Fue un buen día (it was a good day) and Fue al mercado (he went to the market).
Spelling changes
- -car verbs: buscar → busqué
- -gar verbs: llegar → llegué
- -zar verbs: empezar → empecé
Time words
- ayer, yesterday
- anoche, last night
- el año pasado, last year
- una vez, once
Tips
- Learn the regular endings first.
- Memorise fui, hice and tuve.
- Use the dictionary to check irregulars.
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