Spanish Preterite Tense (Pretérito Indefinido): Conjugation, Usage & Examples
Learn how to form and use the Spanish Preterite (Pretérito Indefinido) with clear rules, irregular patterns, key time markers, and essential examples.
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Spanish Exercises. Your Questions Answered.
Explore the most common questions about our Spanish Preterite Exercises and how Elayaa makes learning interactive, simple, and effective.
💡 What is the Spanish Preterite (Pretérito Indefinido)?
The Preterite is a past tense used to describe completed actions, specific events, and actions that occurred at a defined moment in the past.
💡 What are the main uses of the Preterite?
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Completed actions with a clear beginning and end
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Events that happened once or a specific number of times
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Sequence of actions in the past
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Sudden or interrupting actions
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Historical events and narrations
💡 How do you conjugate regular verbs in the Preterite?
-AR: hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron
-ER/-IR: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron
💡 Which verbs are irregular in the Preterite?
Verbs with stem changes: tener → tuv-, estar → estuv-, poder → pud-, poner → pus-, saber → sup-, venir → vin-, querer → quis-, hacer → hic-.
And completely irregular verbs: ser/ir → fui, dar → di, ver → vi.
💡 Do stem-changing verbs change in the Preterite?
Yes, but only -IR verbs in the 3rd person:
e → i (pedir → pidió, pidieron);
o → u (dormir → durmió, durmieron).
💡 What are spelling changes in the Preterite (orthographic changes)?
To maintain pronunciation:
c → qu (buscar → busqué)
g → gu (llegar → llegué)
z → c (empezar → empecé)
💡 When is the Preterite used instead of the Imperfect?
Use the Preterite for completed events.
Use the Imperfect for descriptions, ongoing actions, and background information.
💡 Which time expressions often accompany the Preterite?
Ayer, anoche, el año pasado, la semana pasada, el otro día, hace + time expression, en 2010, una vez, de repente.
💡 What are common mistakes learners make with this tense?
Mixing up Preterite and Imperfect, forgetting irregular stems, incorrect accents, and confusing ser/ir forms.
💡 How can I practice the Spanish Preterite effectively?
By using timelines, verb lists, story-based exercises, and online drills with immediate feedback.