Spanish preterite tense: endings and irregular verbs

The past, for -ar verbs

A thing that happened and is over gets its own endings. For -ar verbs: «hablé», I spoke; «hablaste», you spoke; «habló», he spoke, she spoke. Look at the accents on «hablé» and «habló»: they move the stress to the last syllable, and that is what tells the ear this is the past. «hablo», stress on the a, is I speak, now. «habló», stress on the o, is he spoke, then. The stem is the same as in the present; only the ending changes. And a word that goes with it: «ayer», yesterday. «ayer hablé con Ana», yesterday I spoke with Ana.

• Ayer hablé con Ana

  Yesterday I spoke with Ana

• Hablaste con Diego ayer

  You spoke with Diego yesterday

• Diego habló con mi hermano

  Diego spoke with my brother

• Ayer hablé con mi abuela

  Yesterday I spoke with my grandmother

• Ana habló con mi hermana ayer

  Ana spoke with my sister yesterday

• Ayer hablé con Ana y Ana habló con Diego

  Yesterday I spoke with Ana and Ana spoke with Diego

The past, for -er verbs

-ar verbs took -é, -aste, -ó. -er verbs take -í, -iste, -ió: «comí», I ate; «comiste», you ate; «comió», he ate, she ate. Same stress on the end, same accent doing the work: «comió» is then, «come» is now. And a second marker to go with «ayer»: «anoche», last night. «anoche comí pizza» — last night I ate pizza.

• Anoche comí pizza

  Last night I ate pizza

• Comiste mucho anoche

  You ate a lot last night

• Diego comió en el restaurante

  Diego ate at the restaurant

• Anoche comí en casa con mi familia

  Last night I ate at home with my family

• Anoche comí pizza y hablé con Ana

  Last night I ate pizza and spoke with Ana

• Anoche comí en casa y hablé con mi madre

  Last night I ate at home and spoke with my mother

-ir borrows the -er table

«vivir», «salir», «escribir» — every -ir verb takes the endings you learned for «comer»: «viví», I lived; «vivió», he or she lived; «salí», I went out; «saliste», you went out; «salió», he or she went out. Nothing new to memorise. And a third time marker: «la semana pasada», last week — «la semana pasada salí con Ana».

• La semana pasada salí con Ana

  Last week I went out with Ana

• Viví en México y mi abuela vivió en España

  I lived in Mexico and my grandmother lived in Spain

• Mi abuela vivió en España

  My grandmother lived in Spain

• ¿Saliste la semana pasada?

  Did you go out last week?

• La semana pasada salí y comí pizza

  Last week I went out and ate pizza

• La semana pasada salí con Ana y comí en el restaurante

  Last week I went out with Ana and ate at the restaurant

The accent is the tense

«hablo» — I speak, now. «habló» — he spoke, then. «compro» — I buy. «compró» — she bought. «estudio» — I study. «estudió» — he studied. The letters are almost the same; the accent moves the stress to the last syllable, and that is the difference between now and then. Two habits keep you safe. Listen for where the weight falls. And look at the day-word: «hoy» and «todos los días» go with now; «ayer», «anoche», «la semana pasada» go with then. «hoy estudio, ayer estudié».

• Hoy estudio y ayer estudié

  Today I study and yesterday I studied

• Ayer Diego habló con Ana

  Yesterday Diego spoke with Ana

• Hoy como en casa, pero anoche comí en el restaurante

  Today I eat at home, but last night I ate at the restaurant

• Hoy hablo con Ana y ayer hablé con Diego

  Today I speak with Ana and yesterday I spoke with Diego

• Hoy estudio, pero ayer no estudié

  Today I study, but yesterday I didn't study

Fui, fuiste, fue — the past of ir

A handful of very common verbs throw out the -é/-aste/-ó endings completely and use their own past instead. «ir», to go: «fui», I went; «fuiste», you went; «fue», he or she went. No written accent on any of them: «fui» and «fue» are a single syllable, and «fuiste» keeps the stress on fuis-. A place follows, with «a» or «al»: «fui al museo», «fuiste al mercado», «fue al parque».

• Fui al museo ayer

  I went to the museum yesterday

• Fuiste al mercado ayer

  You went to the market yesterday

• Fui a la playa con mi hermano

  I went to the beach with my brother

• Fuiste a la escuela ayer

  You went to school yesterday

• Fui al museo con mi amigo

  I went to the museum with my friend

• Ayer fui al museo con Ana

  Yesterday I went to the museum with Ana

Fue — went, or was

«fui», «fuiste», «fue» do double duty: they are also the past of «ser», to be. The marker gives it away. A place after them, with «a» or «al», means went: «fui al museo». An adjective or a noun after them means was: «fue muy buena», «fui estudiante», «fuiste muy bueno». Same three words, same no-accent stems — only what follows tells you which.

• La película fue muy buena

  The movie was very good

• Fuiste muy bueno con mi hermano

  You were very good to my brother

• Fue mi maestro

  He was my teacher

The past, for hacer

«hago» is I do, now. In the past: «hice», I did or I made; «hiciste», you did; «hizo», he did, she did — no accent anywhere, the stem already carries the weight. And the c of «hacer» turns to z before o: «hace» now, «hizo» then. «anoche hice la tarea» — last night I did the homework.

• Anoche hice la tarea

  Last night I did the homework

• Hiciste mucho trabajo ayer también

  You did a lot of work yesterday too

• Diego hizo la tarea anoche

  Diego did the homework last night

• Anoche hice mucho trabajo

  Last night I did a lot of work

• Anoche hice la tarea y hablé con Ana

  Last night I did homework and spoke with Ana

• Anoche hice pizza

  Last night I made pizza

Tuve, estuve — the -uve twins

«tener»'s past skips its normal ending too: «tuve», I had; «tuviste», you had; «tuvo», he or she had. «estar» borrows the exact same shape with es- in front: «estuve», I was somewhere; «estuviste», you were; «estuvo», he or she was. Same six endings, twice, no accent on any of them. «tuve mucho trabajo ayer» — I had a lot of work yesterday; «estuve en el parque» — I was at the park.

• Tuve mucho trabajo ayer

  I had a lot of work yesterday

• Estuve en el parque

  I was at the park

• Tuviste mucho trabajo el fin de semana

  You had a lot of work over the weekend

• Tuviste mucho trabajo ayer

  You had a lot of work yesterday

• Tuve mucho trabajo la semana pasada

  I had a lot of work last week

• La semana pasada estuve en la playa y tuve mucho trabajo

  Last week I was at the beach and I had a lot of work

• Ayer tuve mucho trabajo

  Yesterday I had a lot of work

Vi, vine — two more irregular pasts

«ver» (to see) and «venir» (to come) skip the -í/-iste/-ió endings too, just like «ir», «ser», «hacer», «tener» and «estar». ver: «vi», I saw; «viste», you saw; «vio», he or she saw. Short forms, no accent anywhere («vi» and «vio» are one syllable each). venir: «vine», I came; «viniste», you came; «vino», he or she came. «vino» is also the word for wine, but right after a person it can only mean came: «Diego vino a la fiesta», Diego came to the party. The sentence always tells you which.

• Vi a Diego en el parque

  I saw Diego in the park

• Ana vio la película y yo vine a casa

  Ana saw the movie and I came home

• Diego vio a Ana en la tienda

  Diego saw Ana at the store

• Diego vino a la fiesta pero yo no vine

  Diego came to the party but I didn't come

• Vine a la fiesta y vi a mis amigos

  I came to the party and saw my friends

Hablamos, vivimos — now, or then?

«hablamos» is both we speak (now) and we spoke (then) — the exact same word, no accent to tell them apart. «vivimos» works the same way: we live, or we lived. Looking at the word alone never tells you which. The marker does: «hoy hablamos» is now; «anoche hablamos» is then. Trust the marker, not the word.

• Fuimos muy buenos en la fiesta

  We were very good at the party

• Hablamos con la abuela anoche

  We talked to grandma last night

• Fuimos amigos en la escuela

  We were friends at school

• La fiesta fue muy buena y hablamos mucho

  The party was very good and we talked a lot

Check yourself

Questions from the course. Pick an answer to check it; nothing is saved.

1. 1.Which one means 'she spoke'?

   ella habloella hablóella habléella habla

2. 2.Which one means 'she ate'?

   ella comióella comeella comíella comiste

3. 3.Which one means 'he went out'?

   él saleél salióél salíél saliste

4. 4.Which one means 'I studied' (yesterday, not today)?

   estudiéestudioestudiaestudió

5. 5.Which one means 'she went'?

   ella fueella fuiella vaella fuiste