# Tips for using the preterite tense in Spanish

Here’s how to form the preterite, the most important exceptions, and when to use it.

The preterite tense is one way of expressing the past tense in Spanish, and it’s often the first kind of past tense that learners study! Knowing the preterite tense means you’ll be able to talk about what happened this morning, yesterday, last week, or even last decade. Here’s a beginner’s guide to forming and using the preterite tense in Spanish.

## How to form the preterite tense in Spanish

The preterite is used to describe events that happened—and finished happening—at a specific moment in the past. Just like for other verb tenses in Spanish, there are slightly different endings for _-ar,_ _-er,_ and _-ir_ verbs.

Here’s how to conjugate regular verbs in the preterite:

|  | hablar<br>(to speak) | comer<br>(to eat) | vivir<br>(to live) |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| yo | habl **é** | com **í** | viv **í** |
| tú | habl **aste** | com **iste** | viv **iste** |
| él<br>ella<br>usted | habl **ó** | com **ió** | viv **ió** |
| nosotros<br>nosotras | habl **amos** | com **imos** | viv **imos** |
| ellos<br>ellas<br>ustedes | habl **aron** | com **ieron** | viv **ieron** |

## When to use the preterite tense in Spanish

The main use for _el pretérito_ is to **describe actions that have a clear start and end in the past:**

- _Ayer, yo **compré** un libro._ (Yesterday I bought a book.)
- _Esta mañana, yo **comí** panqueques._ (This morning, I ate pancakes.)
- _Yo **hablé** con ella hace dos semanas._ (I talked to her two weeks ago.)
- _El avión **aterrizó** a las 10 am._ (The plane landed at 10 am.)

An easy way to remember when you need to use _el pretérito_ is by learning to spot these **preterite keywords.** They will usually indicate that an action in the past has been completed!

| Spanish | English |
| --- | --- |
| el día siguiente | the following day |
| el lunes (martes, etc) pasado | last Monday (Tuesday, etc) |
| hace un día | one day ago |
| ayer | yesterday |
| anteayer | the day before yesterday |
| anoche | last night |
| una vez | one time |
| una tarde | one afternoon |
| una noche | one night |
| la primera vez | the first time |
| la última vez | the last time |
| por fin | at last |
| finalmente | finally |

You can read more about the differences between the preterite and the imperfect (another Spanish past tense form) on the [Duolingo Blog](https://blog.duolingo.com/spanish-preterite-imperfect/)!

## Spelling changes in the preterite tense in Spanish

Some verbs have spelling changes in the preterite tense—but only in the \*yo\* form! These changes are to keep the pronunciation the same in all the forms of the preterite, so you might want to review [Spanish pronunciation rules](https://blog.duolingo.com/spanish-pronunciation-tips/).

Verbs that end in _-car, -gar,_ and _-zar_ will have a spelling change:

| Spelling change | For example | In a sentence |
| --- | --- | --- |
| -car ➡️ -qu- | platicar (to chat)<br>practicar(to practice) | Yo plati **qu** é con Mateo la semana pasada, y Mateo plati **c** ó con Breanna.<br>(I chatted with Mateo last week, and Mateo chatted with Breanna.) |
| -gar ➡️ -gu- | pagar (to pay)<br>llegar(to arrive) | Yo pa **gu** é con mi tarjeta de crédito y tú pa **g** aste con la tuya.<br>(I paid with my credit card, and you paid with yours.) |
| -zar ➡️ -c- | empezar (to start)<br>organizar (to organize) | Yo empe **c** é desde abajo y ahora estoy aquí. ¡Nosotros empe **z** amos desde abajo también!<br>(I started from the bottom and now I’m here. We started from the bottom, too!) |

_Leer_ (to read) is another verb that has a spelling change, this time only in the [_third person_](https://blog.duolingo.com/what-are-pronouns/) forms: That’s the form for _él_, _ella_, and _usted_, and the form for _ellos_, _ellas_, and _ustedes_—it’s to avoid having 3 vowels in a row!

|  | leer<br>(to read) |
| --- | --- |
| yo | leí |
| tú | leiste |
| él<br>ella<br>usted | leyó |
| nosotros<br>nosotras | leímos |
| ellos<br>ellas<br>ustedes | leyeron |

## Sound changes in preterite tense verbs in Spanish

For some verbs, you’ll change their spelling _and_ their pronunciation in the preterite tense. The change happens only in the [_third person_](https://blog.duolingo.com/what-are-pronouns/) forms:

| Spelling change | For example | Conjugation |
| --- | --- | --- |
| -o- ➡️ -u- | dormir (to sleep) | yo dormí<br>tú dormiste<br>➡️ él/ella/usted d **u** rmió<br>nosotros/nosotras dormimos<br>➡️ ellos/ellas/ustedes d **u** rmieron |
| -e- ➡️ -i- | pedir (to ask a favor) | yo pedí<br>tú pediste<br>➡️ él/ella/usted p **i** dió<br>nosotros/nosotras pedimos<br>➡️ ellos/ellas/ustedes p **i** dieron |

## Irregular preterite tense verbs in Spanish

And—naturally!—there are some irregular forms in the preterite that you’ll just have to memorize.

The most common irregular form is for the verbs _ser_ (to be) and _ir_ (to go)… but there’s great news for learners! In the preterite, _ser_ and _ir_ have the exact same forms, so you get two verbs for the price of one 🙌 For example, _fue_ can mean “it was” (verb: _ser_) or “it went” (verb: _ir_).

|  | ser and ir |
| --- | --- |
| yo | fui |
| tú | fuiste |
| él<br>ella<br>usted | fue |
| nosotros<br>nosotras | fuimos |
| ellos<br>ellas<br>ustedes | fueron |

_Ver_ (to see) and _dar_ (to give) are also irregular:

|  | ver | dar |
| --- | --- | --- |
| yo | vi | di |
| tú | viste | diste |
| él<br>ella<br>usted | vio | dio |
| nosotros<br>nosotras | vimos | dimos |
| ellos<br>ellas<br>ustedes | vieron | dieron |

There are many other verbs that have irregular _stems_ in Spanish—instead of just dropping their _-er_ or _-ir_ ending, you actually start with a different “stem” form. Their endings are a bit different, too:

| Verb | Stem | Example |
| --- | --- | --- |
| estar (to be)<br>tener (to have) | estuv-<br>tuv- | ¿Tú **estuviste** en Bogotá el año pasado?<br>(Were you in Bogotá last year?) |
| decir (to say)<br>traer (to bring) | dij-<br>traj- | Nosotros **trajimos** la pizza para la fiesta ayer.<br>We brought the pizza to the party yesterday. |
| poner (to put or place)<br>querer (to want) | pus-<br>quis- | Ella **puso** el libro encima de la mesa.<br>She put the book on top of the table. |
| poder (to be able) | pud- | Ayer, yo **pude** hacer 10 flexiones en el gimnasio.<br>Yesterday, I was able to do 10 push-ups. |
| saber (to know) | sup- | Ella **supo** que Luis no fue a la escuela el lunes pasado.<br>She knew that Luis didn’t go to school last Monday. |
| venir (to come) | vin- | Drew y Aime **vinieron** a la fiesta juntos. <br>Drew and Aime came to the party together. |
| hacer (to do or make) | hic-<br>hiz- (for _él/ella/usted_) | Ellos no **hicieron** su tarea la semana pasada.<br>They didn’t do their homework last week. |

Here are the endings for those irregular stems:

|  | Irregular endings |
| --- | --- |
| yo | -e |
| tú | -iste |
| él<br>ella<br>usted | -o |
| nosotros<br>nosotras | -imos |
| ellos<br>ellas<br>ustedes | -ieron |

## Don’t tense up!

As with all Spanish verbs, the best way to learn the preterite is a little at a time: Start with the basic pattern of endings, and gradually practice more and more of the exceptions, especially common ones like _ser_ and _ir._

Here’s a handy summary table for using the preterite!

### TLDR: Quick summary of the Spanish preterite tense conjugations

|  | Regular -ar | Regular -er/-ir | ser and ir | dormir | ver |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| yo | -é | -í | fui | dormí | vi |
| tú | -aste | -iste | fuiste | dormiste | viste |
| él<br>ella<br>usted | -ó | -ió | fue | durmió | vio |
| nosotros<br>nosotras | -amos | -imos | fuimos | dormimos | vimos |
| ellos<br>ellas<br>ustedes | -aron | -ieron | fueron | durmieron | vieron |