Preterite Tense Spanish: How To Speak About the Past and Completed Actions

Spanish has two main past tenses. The tense called el pretérito perfecto simple, or “el pretérito” is the one used to talk about specific events that happened in the past. Learning to conjugate the preterite tense in Spanish will boost you into the intermediate level so that you can talk about timeframes other than present tense.

The next time you tell a story or journal about what happened during your day, notice how many of your verbs are in the past tense, such as “went,” “saw,” “bought,” “said,” and “ate.” This is why the preterite tense in Spanish is so useful for everyday conversations as you recount what happened. Learn when to use it and how to form verbs of all kinds in the preterite tense for a big boost to your Spanish level.

What is el pretérito perfecto simple de indicativo (the preterite tense) in Spanish?

The preterite tense in Spanish is used to talk about actions that were completed in the past. There are two main Spanish verb tenses to talk about the past.

el pretérito perfecto simple (the preterite)
el pretérito imperfecto (the imperfect)

Both tenses are important and necessary to talk about the past in Spanish, but they don’t always correspond to a consistent translation in English. There are also some regional differences for preterite. So you don’t just need to know the conjugations of preterite tense in Spanish; you need to understand how and when it’s used.

When to use the preterite tense in Spanish

If you imagine events on a timeline in the past, the Spanish preterite tense is used when you can pinpoint when the specific actions occurred. By contrast, you would use the imperfect tense if the past events were ongoing, descriptive, or repeated.

Completed actions with a clear beginning and end

No matter how brief or long that timeframe is, when an action has a clear beginning and end in the past, the verb is likely to be in the preterite tense. The specific words for “began,” and “ended” also require the preterite tense.

La obra de teatro empezó a las siete de la noche. = The play started at seven o’clock in the evening.
El vuelo llegó a las doce en punto. = The flight arrived at exactly twelve o’clock.
Yo leí este párrafo dos veces y no encontré la respuesta. = I read this paragraph twice and I didn’t find the answer.

The action can occur over a longer period, but if it’s limited by any period of time, it will use the preterite.

El examen duró dos horas. = The exam lasted two hours.
Yo viví en Tokio durante veinte años. = I lived in Tokyo for 20 years.
La guerra se prolongó por 100 años. = The war extended for 100 years.

One-time specific actions in the past

Everyday actions or simple conversations with the preterite tense in Spanish may not specify an amount of time, but they are still considered completed actions. You know which event you’re referring to (the specific game, not “all the games” you’ve ever won).

¿Me llamaste? = You called me?
¿Limpiaste tu cuarto? = Did you clean your room?
¡Nosotras ganamos el partido! = We won the game!

Completed actions in sequence

Sometimes as we narrate a story we create a list or sequence of events that occurred in the past.

Él giró a la derecha, vio el monstruo y gritó. = He turned to the right, saw the monster, and screamed.

Although there is no specific time mentioned here, we understand that one thing happened after another, with each action completed before the next one began.

Forming the pretérito in Spanish

The process to conjugate the preterite in Spanish is similar to other verb patterns, a key feature of Spanish grammar. For most verbs, you’ll remove the -AR, -ER, or -IR from the infinitive, leaving you with the stem. Then add the appropriate ending. There are a few additional patterns to know in the preterite tense.

Regular verbs in the preterite

Many common Spanish verbs follow a regular pattern in the preterite tense. There is one form for -AR verbs and another for both -ER and -IR verbs.

Ayer nadé en el lago. = Yesterday, I swam in the lake.
Ayer corrí diez kilómetros. = Yesterday, I ran 10 kilometers.
¿Has estado alguna vez en Rusia? = Have you ever been to Russia?
- Sí. Viví en Moscú. = Yes, I lived in Moscow.

Regular preterite tense verb endings

Spanish Subject Pronoun	-AR Verb Endings	-ER and -IR Verb Endings
yo I	-é	-í
tú you (informal)	-aste	-iste
él/ella he/she usted you (formal)	-ó	-ió
nosotros we	-amos	-imos
vosotros you all (informal, Spain)	-asteis	-isteis
ellos/ellas they ustedes you all	-aron	-ieron

-CAR, -GAR, -ZAR spelling changes

Spanish is an easy language to learn because Spanish pronunciation and spelling match. When the “é” ending (for the yo form) is added to certain verb stems, it would change the pronunciation of the main verb, so to adjust for this, Spanish changes the spelling to match the pronunciation.

Saqué la basura. = I took out the trash.
Jugué al golf el martes pasado.= I played golf last Tuesday.
Empecé a pintar cuando era niño. = I started to paint when I was a young boy.

Verb Type	Spelling Changes
-CAR verbs	c → qu
-GAR verbs	g → gu
-ZAR verbs	z → c

Vowel + -ER or -IR spelling changes

To break up too many vowels in a row in verbs like caer (to fall), the vowel before the -ER or -IR ending changes to a “y” in the third person forms (él/ella/usted and ellos/ustedes). The other conjugations have an accent over the “i.”

La manzana cayó al suelo. = The apple fell to the ground.
Yo caí al suelo. = I fell to the ground.

There are other spelling changes in the preterite tense, but they are unlikely to cause confusion in conversation. To be accurate in writing, you can consult a Spanish-English dictionary with conjugation charts. These irregularities are often highlighted, like in the verb destruir (to destroy).

Stem-changing -IR verbs

Stem-changing verbs are verbs whose stem or root changes when conjugated. You’ll hear them in conversation as well, as they are part of the Spanish pronunciation of the word.

Miró la película hasta que se durmió. = He watched the movie until he fell asleep.
Ella eligió pasta.= She chose pasta.
Todos los árboles murieron por la sequía. = All the trees died because of the drought.

The Spanish present tense has several kinds of stem-change patterns, but for the preterite tense, only -IR verbs (whose stems change in the present tense) have a stem change in the third person forms él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes.

Common stem-change verbs in the present indicative

Spanish	English	*Él/Ella/Usted* Form	*Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes* Form
dormir (o>u)	to sleep	durmió	durmieron
elegir (e>i)	to choose	eligió	eligieron
mentir (e>i)	to lie	mintió	mintieron
morir (o>u)	to die	murió	murieron
pedir (e>i)	to ask for	pidió	pidieron
seguir (e>i)	to follow	siguió	siguieron
sentir (e>i)	to feel	sintió	sintieron
servir (e>i)	to serve	sirvió	sirvieron

One group of irregular verbs follows its own pattern of endings

It’s worth paying attention to this group of verbs because they are some of the most common in everyday conversations, including estar (to be). They each have their own stems, but they share an alternate set of preterite endings in Spanish.

¿Por quénovinistea la reunión ayer? = Why didn’tyoucome to the meeting yesterday?
- No vine porque estaba enfermo. = I didn’t come because I was sick.

¿Quédijola maestra? = What did the teacher say?
- Dijo que el Reino Unido está en Europa. = She said that the United Kingdom is in Europe.

¿Cómoestuvieronlas vacaciones? = How was your vacation?
- La semana pasada llovió, así que no pude hacer ejercicio afuera. = Last week it rained, so I wasn’t able to exercise outside.

¿Dóndepusistetú el libro? = Where did you put the book?
- Yo lo puse sobre la silla. = I put it on the chair.

Ella tuvo una idea. = She had an idea.

Verbs with irregular stems in the preterite

Spanish Infinitive	English Meaning	Irregular Stem
andar	to walk/to ride	anduv-
conducir	to drive	conduj-
decir	to say/to tell	dij-
estar	to be	estuv-
poder	to be able to/can	pud-
poner	to put/to place	pus-
querer	to want	quis-
saber	to know (facts/information)	sup-
tener	to have	tuv-
traducir	to translate	traduj-
traer	to bring	traj-
venir	to come	vin-

Follow these stems with this set of endings. There are no accents in this group of endings, and they are used for all -AR, -ER, and -IR verbs in this group.

Spanish Subject Pronoun	Alternate Preterite Verb Endings
yo I	-e
tú you (informal)	-iste
él/ella he/she usted you (formal)	-o
nosotros we	-imos
vosotros you all (informal, Spain)	-isteis
ellos/ellas they ustedes you all	-ieron

Common irregular preterite verbs in Spanish

The more common the verb, the more likely it seems it will have some irregularities. It’s worth knowing these very common irregular verbs in Spanish. The conjugation of hacer (to do/to make) does double duty like always. Notice that both ir (to go) and ser (to be) share the same forms in the preterite, so you’ll know the meaning via context.

El hijo fue a pescar. = The son went fishing.
¡Fue una muy buena idea! ¡Gracias! = It was a very good idea, thank you!
Vi unas montañas hermosas.
¿Quéhicistetú esta mañana?
- Fui al museo en el centro de la ciudad.

Spanish Subject Pronoun	*ir/ser*to go/to be	*hacer*to do/to make	*ver*to see
yo I	fui	hice	vi
tú you (informal)	fuiste	hiciste	viste
él/ella he/she usted you (formal)	fue	hizo	vio
nosotros we	fuimos	hicimos	vimos
vosotros you all (informal, Spain)	fuisteis	hicisteis	visteis
ellos/ellas they ustedes you all	fueron	hicieron	vieron

Important considerations for writing and speaking in the preterite tense

Pay close attention to the accents in the preterite form of Spanish verbs, because if you leave them off, some verb forms can be confused for other words or verb tenses. You’ll also emphasize every syllable with an accent mark, so your Spanish pronunciation affects the meaning of the sentence.

compró (he/she bought: preterite) vs. compro (I buy: present)
caminé (I walked: preterite) vs. camine (I walk: subjunctive)
trabajó (he/she worked: preterite) vs. trabajo (I work: present/or “job”)
jugó (he/she played: preterite) vs. jugo (juice)

Verbs that change meaning in the preterite

There are some verbs that change meaning in the preterite. Knowing these verbs is helpful because it reminds us that the preterite refers to a specific completed event. Seeing the examples in context is a good way to capture the overall feel of the preterite tense.

Conocer (to know vs. met)

Conocer means “to know” in the present tense, but it means “met” (in the sense of meeting someone for the first time) in the preterite.

Yo conozco a tu hermana. = I know your sister.
Yo conocí a tu hermana anoche. = I met your sister last night.

Poder (to be able vs. managed to/failed to)

The verb poder means “can” or “to be able to” in the present tense. It’s often used to talk about an ability.

Yo puedo hacer la ensalada para la fiesta. = I can make the salad for the party.

However, the conjugation of poder in the preterite tense has the sense of “managed to do something.”

Tú pudiste llegar a tiempo al trabajo a pesar del tráfico. = You managed to get to work on time despite the traffic.

In the negative, it means “failed to do something.”

Tú no pudiste llegar a la cita por el tráfico. = You failed to arrive for the appointment due to the traffic.

Querer (to want vs. refused)

In the present, querer can mean “to want” or even “to love” in Spanish.

In the preterite, it can mean “attempted/tried” to do something (because the person wanted to).

Él quiso llamarle. = He tried to call her.

When it’s in the negative form, it has the sense of “refused” (because they didn’t want to).

Le ofrecieron un postre, pero no quiso. = They offered him dessert, but he refused.

Saber (to know vs. found out)

This verb means “to know” facts or information in the present tense. In the preterite, it means “found out.”

Supimos de su muerte después de regresar del viaje. = We found out about his death after the trip.

Time markers often used with the preterite

The preterite is frequently used with certain words and phrases that refer to a specific moment in time. They clue us into the fact that the verb refers to a completed action in the past. These are also called “trigger words” because they trigger the use of the preterite. Here are some of the most frequently used phrases.

English	Spanish
a las #	at # o’clock (specific time)
anoche	last night
anteayer	the day before yesterday
el año pasado	last year
ayer	yesterday
durante	during
hace # (time period) segundos/minutos/horas/días/semanas/años	# (time period) ago seconds/minutes/hours/days/weeks/years
por # (time period)	for # (time period)
el mes pasado	last month
la semana pasada	last week

The preterite vs. imperfect in Spanish

The Spanish language has two main past tenses, the preterite and the imperfect. While the Spanish preterite tense is used to refer to a single event in the past, you’ll use the imperfect tense for ongoing or habitual action in the past.

Yo iba al mercado todos los días. = I went to the market every day.

You could translate iba to “went” in English, or you might say “would go” or “used to go.”

The imperfect tense is also used for actions and descriptions with no clear ending or beginning, and descriptive or background information in the past, such as time, date, and weather.

Era el 20 de febrero. Hacía sol. = It was February 20. It was sunny.
Me gustaba ir de paseo en el parque porque era tranquilo. = I liked going for walks in the park because it was peaceful.
Mi padre trabajaba mucho cuando era niño. = My father worked a lot when I was a young boy.

If one action is happening when another action interrupts it, you’ll see both the imperfect tense (the ongoing action that was occurring) and the preterite (the action that interrupts it).

Ellos preparaban la cena cuando sonó el teléfono. = They were preparing dinner when the phone rang.

Choosing between the preterite vs. imperfect in Spanish is easier once you see a lot of examples of the verbs in context and get the “feel” of each tense.

Cada día en otoño, el niño trepaba al árbol para recoger las manzanas. = Each day in the fall, the boy used to climb into the tree to gather the apples. (imperfect)
El jueves pasado, el niño trepó al árbol para recoger las manzanas. Se cayó y se rompió el brazo. = Last Thursday, the boy climbed into the tree to collect apples. He fell and broke his arm. (preterite)

In the first example, the use of the imperfect tense indicates that this was a common occurrence, and we aren’t referring to any one specific event.

In the second example, the use of the preterite lets us know that this is a specific time that the boy climbed the tree (last Thursday) and also places this event within a sequence of actions (falling and breaking his arm).

Use a different tense to indicate the past in Peninsular Spanish

The present perfect is one of several important Spanish past tenses that carries significance into the present. It’s formed with the present tense of haber and the past participle of the main verb. You’ll use it to talk about what has happened (and is still true or open-ended).

¿Has vistomi nuevo apartamento? = Have you seen my new apartment?
- No, no lo he visto. = No, I haven’t seen it.
¿Ustedeshan visitadoel volcán? = Have you visited the volcano?
- Sí, hemos visitado muchos lugares importantes cerca de aquí. = Yes, we have visited a lot of important places near here.

In Spain, people tend to use the pretérito perfecto compuesto (present perfect) tense to talk about the very recent past in place of the preterite tense. Whereas in Latin American Spanish it’s common to say fui al mercado (I went to the market), in Spain you’re likely to hear he ido al mercado (I’ve gone to the market) if the event occurred within the last day or so.

¿Has desayunado? = Have you had breakfast?
- No, porque mis padres me han llamado, pero he tomado dos cafés. = No, because my parents called me, but I had two coffees.

It’s interesting to compare Romance languages and how they relate. If you’ve studied French, you know that the passé composé is used in much the same way that Spanish uses the pretérito, but in French it also takes the place of the present perfect, as it’s a two word tense that says what “has” happened.

Is there a subjunctive or imperative mood in the preterite?

No, the preterite tense in Spanish is only used in the indicative mood. This is because the preterite is used to talk about events that have occurred in reality and are being declared as fact.

If your sentence begins with an expression in the preterite tense that triggers the subjunctive mood, you’ll switch to the imperfect subjunctive for the dependent clause.

Me sorprendió que comprara el coche. = It surprised me that he bought the car.

Likewise, if you’re trying to express a command in the imperative mood from a past perspective, you won’t use the preterite tense alone. You can express a past command using the preterite of a verb like decir (to say/to tell) followed by the imperfect subjunctive.

Te dije que lavaras la ropa. = I told you to wash the laundry.

Key takeaways of the preterite tense in Spanish

The preterite tense in Spanish is one of the main ways Spanish speakers talk about the past. If you’re wondering how to learn Spanish at a more advanced level, this tense will unlock your ability to communicate about what happened in the past. This is a key skill for moving from a beginner to higher intermediate level.

The preterite is used for a specific action in the past with a defined beginning and end.
The action must have been completed prior to the moment of speaking or writing.
This verb tense is often used with specific words and phrases related to a specific moment or period of time, like “two days ago.”
The preterite is used in conjunction with the imperfect to show that one action interrupts another.
Forming the preterite involves both regular and irregular verb patterns as well as spelling and stem-changes. Master common Spanish preterite tense verbs poco a poco (little by little).

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