If you want to tell a story about what happened to you yesterday, talk about your childhood, list things you have or haven’t done yet when completing a project, or express your surprise about an event that took place, all of these use different past tenses in Spanish.
Talking about the past doesn’t have to be complicated. Knowing the difference between each of the Spanish past tenses will allow you to communicate beyond the present tense, and knowing how to form each of the common Spanish verbs in the past will give you a huge advantage in expressing yourself accurately.
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What are the past tenses in Spanish?
There are several important Spanish verb tenses used to talk about the past. The two main ones learners hear about a lot are the preterite and the imperfect, but there are several ways to express yourself in the past timeframe.
| Spanish Tense Name | Use | Example |
| el pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo/“el pretérito” (preterite/simple past) | For an action that happened and is complete with a distinct beginning and end. | comí (I ate) |
| el pretérito imperfecto de indicativo/”el imperfecto” (imperfect) | For description in the past, repeated actions, or an action was happening when interrupted. | comía (I used to eat/I was eating when…) |
| el pretérito perfecto compuesto de indicativo (present perfect) | For the past continuing into the present:what has happened. | he comido (I’ve eaten) |
| el pretérito pluscuamperfecto de indicativo (pluperfect) | For what had already happened before another past event. | había comido (I had eaten) |
| el imperfecto progresivo de indicativo (past progressive/past continuous) | For an action that was ongoing at a moment in the past. | estaba comiendo (I was eating) |
| el futuro perifrástico en el pasado de indicativo (near future in the past) | For an action that was going to happen soon. | iba a comer (I was going to eat) |
| el pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo (imperfect subjunctive) | To refer to what happened after expressions in the past that trigger the subjunctive. | que comiera/que comiese (that I ate) |
| pretérito perfecto compuesto de subjuntivo (present perfect subjunctive) | To refer to what has happened after expressions in the past that trigger the subjunctive. | que haya comido (that I have eaten) |
| el pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo (pluperfect subjunctive) | To refer to what had happened after expressions in the past that trigger the subjunctive. | que hubiera comido/que hubiese comido (that I had eaten) |
El pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo (the preterite tense)
Use the preterite tense to talk about actions that happened and are complete, like “I went,” “I saw,” “I ate.” This is for a specific event that you could place on a timeline in the past, noting when it began and when it finished. Use the preterite for a series of events that happened one after another.
- ¿Qué hiciste esta mañana? = What did you do this morning?
- Leí el periódico. = I read the newspaper
- ¡Alguien me escribió una carta! = Someone wrote me a letter!
- El hombre se cayó de la bicicleta. = The man fell from the bicycle.
- Te hice una torta para tu cumpleaños. = I made you a cake for your birthday.
| Spanish Subject Pronoun | comprar (to buy) | comer (to eat) | decidir (to decide) |
| yo I | compré | comí | decidí |
| tú you (informal) | compraste | comiste | decidiste |
| él/ella he/she usted you (formal) | compró | comió | decidió |
| nosotros we | compramos | comimos | decidiemos |
| vosotros you all (informal, Spain) | comprasteis | comisteis | decidisteis |
| ellos/ellas they ustedes you all | compraron | comieron | decidieron |
Key notes about the preterite tense
- The helping verbs “did/didn’t” are not used like they are in English. It’s a one-word tense.
- There are several irregular verbs as well as stem- and spell-changing verbs, but they don’t correspond with whether a verb is regular in English.
- Like many tenses, to make the verb negative, put no in front of the conjugated verb.
- You’ll often use the indicative mood, as this conveys that you consider what you’re talking about to be reality (as opposed to the non-reality expressed by the subjunctive mood).
El pretérito imperfecto de indicativo (the imperfect tense)
Use the imperfect tense to set the scene in the past. Describe the way things were, what always happened, what people had, wanted, and felt. Also use the imperfect for time, date, age, and weather.
- Antes vivíamos en este apartamento. = Before, we used to live in this apartment.
- Las tablas estaban dañadas.= The boards were damaged.
- Comía mucha comida interesante cuando estaba de vacaciones en Asia.= I used to eat lots of interesting food when I was on vacation in Asia.
- Así vivía la familia de un granjero.= This is how a farm family used to live.
- Mi pasaporte estaba en el bolso, así que tenía que encontrar la embajada. = My passport was in my bag, so I had to find the embassy.
| Spanish Subject Pronoun | comprar (to buy) | comer (to eat) | decidir (to decide) |
| yo I | compraba | comía | decidía |
| tú you (informal) | comprabas | comías | decidías |
| él/ella he/she usted you (formal) | compraba | comía | decidía |
| nosotros we | comprábamos | comíamos | decidíamos |
| vosotros you all (informal, Spain) | comprabais | comíais | decidíais |
| ellos/ellas they ustedes you all | compraban | comían | decidían |
El imperfecto progresivo (the past progressive/continuous)
In the same way that the present tense would use estoy comiendo (“I was eating”) to emphasize that the action of eating is in progress at the current moment, you can shift this perspective to the past by putting estar in the imperfect.
This structure, though not its own tense, is common to emphasize that the action was occurring at that moment in time.
- Al amanecer, el fotógrafo ya estaba sacando fotos. = At sunrise, the photographer was already taking pictures.
- Saqué esta foto el año pasado mientras estaba estudiando un volcán en Italia. = I took this photo last year while I was studying a volcano in Italy.
El futuro perifrástico en el pasado (the near future from the past perspective)
Just like you can use ir + a + infinitivo to say what is going to happen in the near future, you can shift this to a past perspective by putting ir in the imperfect. This structure expresses what “was going to happen.”
- Iba a pintar una manzana… = I was going to paint an apple…
- ¡pero en lugar de eso me la comí! = But I ate it instead!
- Yo iba a manejar del aeropuerto a mi casa, pero tuve que caminar porque robaron mi carro. = I was going to drive from the airport to my house, but I had to walk because they stole my car.
Key notes about the imperfect tense
- While it can translate to “would” or “used to” do something in the past, the English meaning can sound identical to the preterite tense.
- The imperfect can set the scene, describe, and express actions without a clearly defined beginning or end, but if you’re referring to one specific event, use the preterite.
- There are only two regular patterns and three irregular verbs, so it’s an easy tense to master.
El pretérito imperfecto de subjuntivo (the imperfect subjunctive)
There are expressions in Spanish that trigger the subjunctive mood instead of the indicative. When you’re talking in the past tense and a dependent clause follows one of these phrases, you’ll use the imperfect subjunctive. These phrases include (but aren’t limited to):
- A wish, request, or command:
- El policía le dijo a la ladrona que entrara al carro. = The police officer told the thief to get in the car.
- An emotional judgement on the action:
- ¡Qué pena que tuviera un accidente! = How horrible that she had an accident!
- A doubt or denial:
- Dudaba que pudiera devolver esto porque no tenía mi recibo. = I doubted that I would be able to return this because I didn’t have my receipt.
| Spanish Subject Pronoun | comprar (to buy) | comer (to eat) | decidir (to decide) |
| yo I | comprara / comprase | comiera / comiese | decidiera / decidiese |
| tú you (informal) | compraras / comprases | comieras / comieses | decidieras / decidieses |
| él/ella he/she usted you (formal) | comprara / comprase | comiera / comiese | decidiera / decidiese |
| nosotros we | compráramos / comprásemos | comiéramos / comiésemos | decidiéramos / decidiésemos |
| vosotros you all (informal, Spain) | comprarais / compraseis | comierais / comieseis | decidierais / decidieseis |
| ellos/ellas they ustedes you all | compraran/ comprasen | comieran / comiesen | decidieran / decidiesen |
Key notes about the imperfect subjunctive
- The English meaning usually doesn’t indicate the difference between the indicative and the subjunctive. Instead, you’ll learn which phrases and attitudes trigger the subjunctive mood and use the imperfect subjunctive in place of the preterite or imperfect.
- It’s formed using the third person plural of the preterite tense, so it’s helpful to have mastered these verb forms while you’re learning it.
The perfect tenses with auxiliary verb haber
These compound tenses in Spanish use the helping verb haber along with the past participle of the main verb. Depending on what tense you’re using, haber can be in the present indicative, imperfect indicative, present subjunctive, or imperfect subjunctive.
| Spanish Subject Pronoun | Present Indicative Haber | Imperfect Indicative Haber | Present Subjunctive Haber | Imperfect Subjunctive Haber |
| yo I | he | había | haya | hubiera |
| tú you (informal) | has | habías | hayas | hubieras |
| él/ella he/she usted you (formal) | ha | había | haya | huberia |
| nosotros we | hemos | habíamos | hayamos | hubiéramos |
| vosotros you all (informal, Spain) | habéis | habíais | hayáis | hubierais |
| ellos/ellas they ustedes you all | han | habían | hayan | hubieran |
The past participle of the main verb is typically formed by replacing
- -AR with “-ado”
- -ER and -IR with “-ido”
There are irregular past participles as well. Use these with any subject pronoun, as you will be conjugating the auxiliary verb haber.
| Spanish Infinitive | English Meaning | Past Participle |
| abrir | to open | abierto |
| decir | to say | dicho |
| hacer | to do/to make | hecho |
| escribir | to write | escrito |
| morir | to die | muerto |
| poner | to put | puesto |
| ver | to see | visto |
| volver | to return | vuelto |
El pretérito perfecto compuesto de indicativo (the present perfect indicative)
Use this tense for things that have happened. There is a sense of “open-endedness,” allowing the action to continue into the present. This tense, as compared to the “complete” feeling of the preterite, gives the impression that the action still affects the present moment, like a bridge from past to present.
This tense uses the present tense of haber as the helping verb.
- Nos hemos conocido por cincuenta años. = We have known each other for fifty years. (and they still know each other)
- ¿Cuántos libros has leído este año? = How many books have you read this year?
- He leído diez libros y dos eran muy interesantes. = I’ve read ten books and two were very interesting. (But the year isn’t over, so he still has time to read more books)
- Yo he vivido en Nueva York por dos años. = I’ve lived in New York for two years. (and presumably still lives there)
Speakers from Spain prefer this tense for recent past events instead of the preterite.
- ¿Has comido tus verduras? = Have you eaten your vegetables?
- No, no he comido ninguna. = No, I haven’t eaten any.
- ¿Tu novio ya ha arreglado el lavaplatos? = Has your boyfriend fixed the dishwasher?
- No, no lo ha arreglado. = No, he hasn’t fixed it.
- Ya le he agregado azúcar. = I’ve already added sugar.
Emphasize the action has been continually in progress using the present perfect progressive.
Using the present perfect of estar plus the gerund, or “-ing” form of the verb is a way to emphasize the ongoing nature of an action that has been occurring and continues.
- Hablan muy bien el español. ¿Han estado estudiando? = You speak Spanish very well. Have you been studying?
- Sí, hemos estado estudiando español. = Yes, we have been studying Spanish.
El pretérito pluscuamperfecto de indicativo (the pluperfect indicative)
Say what “had already” occurred in relation to a different event in the past. This is a way to sort events into what came first in the past.
This tense uses the imperfect of haber as the helping verb.
- Él había perdido su animal de juguete, pero lo encontró. = He had lost his toy animal, but he found it.
- Cuando terminaron la carrera, habían corrido durante tres horas. = When they finished the race, they had run for three hours.
- Habíamos viajado a Europa antes, pero nunca al Reino Unido. = We had traveled to Europe before, but never to the United Kingdom.
- Yo había vivido dos años en Nueva York antes de mudarme aquí. = I had lived in New York for two years before moving here.
El pretérito perfecto compuesto de subjuntivo (the present perfect subjunctive)
Use this tense if the first part of the sentence contains a phrase that triggers the subjunctive, and the second clause uses the present perfect (“has happened”).
This tense uses the present subjunctive of haber as the helping verb.
- Estoy contento de que no haya llovido durante tu partido. = I’m happy that it hasn’t rained during your game.
- Es una pena que le hayan robado el bolso. = It’s a pain that they’ve stolen the bag.
El pretérito pluscuamperfecto de subjuntivo (the pluperfect subjunctive)
Use this tense if the independent clause triggers the subjunctive and you want to say that something “had occurred.”
This tense uses the imperfect subjunctive of haber as the helping verb.
- Fue una lástima que ustedes no hubieran llegado cuando comenzamos la ceremonia. = It was a shame that you hadn’t arrived when we started the ceremony.
- Ella quería que ellos hubieran terminado los quehaceres antes de ir al cine. = She wanted them to have finished their chores before going to the movies.
You can also use the passive voice and acabar de to express the past
You might hear the passive voice in discussions of history or artifacts, such as when things were invented or discovered. In Spanish, this uses the preterite of ser and the past participle.
- La Antártida fue descubierta en 1820. = Antarctica was discovered in 1820.
To emphasize that someone has “just done” something, some Spanish speakers use the present tense of acabar de plus the infinitive of the main action.
- Acabo de comer mariscos por primera vez. = I just ate seafood for the first time.
In other regions, you might use recién instead.
- Recién llegué. = I have just arrived.
Choosing the correct tenses
Most of the time when you’re telling a story in the past, you will naturally flow between all of these tenses, depending on the relative timing of the action, the mood, whether the action is complete or incomplete, and whether one verb interrupts another.
| Spanish | English | Explanation |
| ¿Qué pasó? | What happened? | preterite: completed action |
| Mientras ellos esquiaban, se cayeron y se lastimaron la pierna | While they were skiing, they fell and they hurt their legs. | imperfect: ongoing and interrupted |
| ¿Cuándo se conocieron tú y papá? | When did you and Dad meet? | preterite: one specific event. |
| Nos conocimos cuando él visitaba Roma y yo estaba allá trabajando. | We met when he was visiting Rome and I was there working. | imperfect: undefined period of time; “was working” emphasizes it was ongoing |
| ¿Ha comido alguna vez comida india? | Have you ever eaten Indian food? | present perfect: in the past up to and including now |
| Sí, he comido y me gustó mucho. | Yes, I’ve eaten it and I liked it a lot. | preterite: that instance is complete. |
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