El Pretérito Indefinido (Preterite) Revision Notes for AQA A-Level Spanish

El Pretérito Indefinido (Preterite)

Overview

The pretérito indefinido (also called the preterite) is a past tense used to describe actions that were completed at a specific point in the past. When you want to talk about what happened yesterday, last week, or at any defined moment that has finished, you use this tense.

The preterite is your go-to tense for narrating past events, telling stories, and describing actions that started and ended in the past. It answers the question "What happened?" rather than "What was happening?"

infoNote

The key distinction is that the preterite focuses on completed, finished actions with a clear beginning and end. Think of it as taking a photograph of a moment in the past, rather than watching a video of an ongoing action.

Regular verbs: formation

-AR verbs

To conjugate regular -AR verbs in the preterite, remove the -AR ending from the infinitive and add the appropriate preterite ending. Here's how it works with hablar (to speak):

Pronoun	Ending	Example (hablar)	English
yo	-é	hablé	I spoke
tú	-aste	hablaste	you spoke
él/ella/usted	-ó	habló	he/she spoke, you spoke
nosotros/as	-amos	hablamos	we spoke
vosotros/as	-asteis	hablasteis	you all spoke
ellos/ellas/ustedes	-aron	hablaron	they spoke, you all spoke

chatImportant

Notice that the nosotros/as form looks identical to the present tense (hablamos = we speak / we spoke). Context and time expressions will tell you which tense is being used. This is a common source of confusion, so always pay attention to the surrounding words!

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Worked Example: Conjugating an -AR verb

Let's conjugate trabajar (to work) in the preterite:

Remove the -AR ending: trabaj-
Add the preterite endings:
- yo trabajé (I worked)
- tú trabajaste (you worked)
- él/ella/usted trabajó (he/she/you worked)
- nosotros/as trabajamos (we worked)
- vosotros/as trabajasteis (you all worked)
- ellos/ellas/ustedes trabajaron (they/you all worked)

Notice the accent marks on trabajé and trabajó - these are essential!

-ER and -IR verbs

Regular -ER and -IR verbs share the same set of preterite endings. Remove the infinitive ending and add these endings. Here are examples with comer (to eat) and vivir (to live):

Pronoun	Ending	Comer	Vivir	English
yo	-í	comí	viví	I ate / I lived
tú	-iste	comiste	viviste	you ate / you lived
él/ella/usted	-ió	comió	vivió	he/she ate / lived, you ate / lived
nosotros/as	-imos	comimos	vivimos	we ate / we lived
vosotros/as	-isteis	comisteis	vivisteis	you all ate / lived
ellos/ellas/ustedes	-ieron	comieron	vivieron	they ate / lived, you all ate / lived

The patterns are straightforward once you memorise the endings. Pay attention to the accent marks on the yo and él/ella/usted forms, as these are essential for correct spelling and pronunciation.

infoNote

Unlike -AR verbs, the -ER and -IR nosotros forms in the preterite (-imos) are different from the present tense. For vivir: vivimos in preterite vs vivimos in present - wait, they're the same! This means context is still important, just like with -AR verbs.

Irregular verbs

Many common verbs have irregular forms in the preterite. These don't follow the regular patterns, so you need to learn them individually. The good news is that once you know the irregular stem, the endings follow a consistent pattern (though without accent marks).

chatImportant

These irregular verbs are among the most frequently used verbs in Spanish, so learning them well is essential. Unlike regular verbs, irregular preterite forms do not have accent marks on the endings.

Ir (to go), ser (to be), and venir (to come)

Pronoun	IR	SER	VENIR
yo	fui	fui	vine
tú	fuiste	fuiste	viniste
él/ella/usted	fue	fue	vino
nosotros/as	fuimos	fuimos	vinimos
vosotros/as	fuisteis	fuisteis	vinisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	fueron	fueron	vinieron

infoNote

Notice that ir and ser have identical preterite forms (fui, fuiste, fue, etc.). You can only tell them apart by context:

Fui al parque = I went to the park (ir)
Fui profesor = I was a teacher (ser)

Andar (to walk), estar (to be), and tener (to have)

Pronoun	ANDAR	ESTAR	TENER
yo	anduve	estuve	tuve
tú	anduviste	estuviste	tuviste
él/ella/usted	anduvo	estuvo	tuvo
nosotros/as	anduvimos	estuvimos	tuvimos
vosotros/as	anduvisteis	estuvisteis	tuvisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	anduvieron	estuvieron	tuvieron

Decir (to say), dar (to give), and ver (to see)

Pronoun	DECIR	DAR	VER
yo	dije	di	vi
tú	dijiste	diste	viste
él/ella/usted	dijo	dio	vio
nosotros/as	dijimos	dimos	vimos
vosotros/as	dijisteis	disteis	visteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	dijeron	dieron	vieron

infoNote

Dar and ver are unusual because they use -ER/-IR endings despite dar being an -AR verb. Notice the short forms: di, dio (dar) and vi, vio (ver) - no accent marks needed because they're single syllables!

Hacer (to do/make), querer (to want), and poner (to put)

Pronoun	HACER	QUERER	PONER
yo	hice	quise	puse
tú	hiciste	quisiste	pusiste
él/ella/usted	hizo	quiso	puso
nosotros/as	hicimos	quisimos	pusimos
vosotros/as	hicisteis	quisisteis	pusisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	hicieron	quisieron	pusieron

chatImportant

Notice the spelling change in hacer: hice (yo) but hizo (él/ella/usted) to maintain the /s/ sound. The c changes to z before o to keep the same pronunciation.

Poder (to be able to), leer (to read), and saber (to know)

Pronoun	PODER	LEER	SABER
yo	pude	leí	supe
tú	pudiste	leíste	supiste
él/ella/usted	pudo	leyó	supo
nosotros/as	pudimos	leímos	supimos
vosotros/as	pudisteis	leísteis	supisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes	pudieron	leyeron	supieron

With leer, note the accent marks on the í in several forms, and the spelling change from i to y in the third person forms (leyó, leyeron).

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Worked Example: Understanding irregular verb patterns

Let's look at the pattern for tener (to have):

Stem: tuv- (irregular stem) Endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron

Result:

yo tuve (not tení)
tú tuviste
él/ella/usted tuvo (note: no accent mark!)
nosotros/as tuvimos
vosotros/as tuvisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes tuvieron

The same pattern works for estar (estuv-) and andar (anduv-).

Spelling changes in -GAR, -CAR, and -ZAR verbs

Some verbs require spelling changes in the yo form to maintain correct pronunciation. This only affects the first person singular.

-GAR verbs

Verbs ending in -GAR change the g to gu before é in the yo form:

jugar (to play) → yo jugué (I played)
llegar (to arrive) → yo llegué (I arrived)

This maintains the hard /g/ sound. Without the u, the g would sound soft before e.

-CAR verbs

Verbs ending in -CAR change the c to qu before é in the yo form:

buscar (to look for) → yo busqué (I looked for)
sacar (to take out) → yo saqué (I took out)

This preserves the /k/ sound. A c before e would make a soft /th/ or /s/ sound.

-ZAR verbs

Verbs ending in -ZAR change the z to c before é in the yo form:

empezar (to begin) → yo empecé (I began)

This is a standard spelling convention in Spanish, where z rarely appears before e.

chatImportant

Why these changes matter: These spelling changes are not optional - they're necessary to maintain the correct pronunciation. Think of them as preserving the sound of the infinitive when you add the -é ending.

Memory tip: Only the yo form is affected. All other forms conjugate regularly: jugué, but jugaste, jugó, jugamos, jugasteis, jugaron.

Stem-changing verbs

Stem-changing verbs behave differently depending on whether they end in -AR, -ER, or -IR. This is a crucial distinction to understand.

-AR and -ER stem-changing verbs

Verbs like cerrar (to close) and volver (to return) do NOT undergo a stem change in the preterite. They conjugate regularly:

Cerrar (e→ie in present, but regular in preterite):

cerré, cerraste, cerró, cerramos, cerrasteis, cerraron

Volver (o→ue in present, but regular in preterite):

volví, volviste, volvió, volvimos, volvisteis, volvieron

infoNote

Even though these verbs have stem changes in the present tense (cierro, vuelvo), they follow the completely regular pattern in the preterite. The stem stays as it appears in the infinitive.

-IR stem-changing verbs

However, -IR stem-changing verbs DO change in the preterite, but only in the third person singular (él/ella/usted) and third person plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

E changes to I:

Pedir (to order/ask for):

pedí, pediste, pidió, pedimos, pedisteis, pidieron

Sentir (to feel):

sentí, sentiste, sintió, sentimos, sentisteis, sintieron

O changes to U:

Dormir (to sleep):

dormí, dormiste, durmió, dormimos, dormisteis, durmieron

Notice the pattern: the stem changes only affect the él/ella/usted form (pidió, sintió, durmió) and the ellos/ellas/ustedes form (pidieron, sintieron, durmieron).

chatImportant

Critical rule for -IR verbs: The stem change happens only in the third person forms. Many students incorrectly apply the change to all forms, writing "pidí" instead of pedí for the yo form. Remember:

yo, tú, nosotros, vosotros → normal stem
él/ella/usted, ellos/ellas/ustedes → changed stem

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Worked Example: Conjugating a stem-changing -IR verb

Let's conjugate preferir (to prefer) which has an e→i stem change:

Identify which forms need the stem change: third person only
Apply the changes:
- yo preferí (no change)
- tú preferiste (no change)
- él/ella/usted prefirió (e→i change)
- nosotros/as preferimos (no change)
- vosotros/as preferisteis (no change)
- ellos/ellas/ustedes prefirieron (e→i change)

Compare this with cerrar (an -AR verb): cerré, cerraste, cerró - all with regular stems!

Making sentences negative

To make a verb negative in the preterite, simply place no directly before the verb:

Habló con la directora. (He spoke to the principal.)
No habló con la directora. (He didn't speak to the principal.)

The structure is straightforward and consistent across all preterite verbs.

Forming questions

To ask a question in the preterite, place an inverted question mark (¿) at the beginning and a standard question mark (?) at the end. The word order often places the verb before the subject, though this isn't always necessary:

¿Habló con la directora? (Did he speak to the principal?)
¿Comiste en el restaurante? (Did you eat at the restaurant?)

You can also place the inverted question mark at the start of the sentence and the question mark after the verb or at the end.

Reflexive verbs in the preterite

Reflexive verbs work just like in other tenses: place the reflexive pronoun (me, te, se, nos, os, se) before the conjugated verb:

Me levanté. (I got up.)
Se duchó. (He/she had a shower.)
Nos despertamos. (We woke up.)

The verb itself conjugates normally in the preterite; you simply need to remember to include the reflexive pronoun.

infoNote

Common reflexive verbs in the preterite:

levantarse (to get up) → Me levanté a las siete. (I got up at seven.)
acostarse (to go to bed) → Se acostó tarde. (He/she went to bed late.)
ducharse (to shower) → Nos duchamos antes del desayuno. (We showered before breakfast.)

The reflexive pronoun always goes before the conjugated preterite verb, never attached to it.

Time expressions used with the preterite

The preterite often appears with specific time expressions that indicate a completed past action. Here are common ones:

Yesterday and recent past:

ayer (yesterday)
anoche (last night)
anteayer (the day before yesterday)

Last week/weekend:

el martes pasado (last Tuesday)
el viernes pasado por la mañana (last Friday morning)
el sábado pasado por la tarde (last Saturday afternoon/evening)
el fin de semana pasado (last weekend)
la semana pasada (last week)

Longer periods ago:

el verano pasado (last summer)
el año pasado (last year)
hace dos días (two days ago)
hace una semana (a week ago)

These expressions signal to use the preterite because they refer to specific, finished moments in time.

infoNote

The phrase hace + time period is especially useful. It means "ago":

hace tres días = three days ago
hace un mes = a month ago
hace cinco años = five years ago

When you see these time markers, you know to use the preterite tense!

Example sentences

Let's see the preterite in action:

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Worked Examples: Preterite in context

Comí paella ayer.
- Translation: I ate paella yesterday.
- Analysis: Uses the regular -ER verb comer in the yo form (comí) with the time expression ayer.
Mis amigos fueron al cine anoche.
- Translation: My friends went to the cinema last night.
- Analysis: Uses the irregular verb ir in the ellos form (fueron) with anoche.
¿Estudiaste para el examen?
- Translation: Did you study for the exam?
- Analysis: Uses the regular -AR verb estudiar in a question format (estudiaste).
No tuve tiempo la semana pasada.
- Translation: I didn't have time last week.
- Analysis: Uses the irregular verb tener (tuve) in a negative sentence with la semana pasada.
Ella se levantó temprano.
- Translation: She got up early.
- Analysis: Uses the reflexive verb levantarse in the preterite with the pronoun se before the verb.
Empecé a trabajar en enero.
- Translation: I started to work in January.
- Analysis: Uses empezar, showing the spelling change z→c in the yo form (empecé, not empezé).
Los estudiantes leyeron el libro.
- Translation: The students read the book.
- Analysis: Uses leer, showing the irregular spelling i→y in the third person plural (leyeron).

Common mistakes and tips

chatImportant

Mistake 1: Forgetting accent marks

Students often forget the accent marks on the yo form (-é, -í) and the él/ella/usted form (-ó, -ió) of regular verbs. These accents are essential: hablo means "I speak" (present), while habló means "he/she spoke" (preterite).

Tip: Always write the accent marks on regular preterite verbs. Practice writing them from the start so it becomes automatic. Remember: if it's regular preterite, the yo and él/ella/usted forms must have accents.

chatImportant

Mistake 2: Confusing preterite with present in -AR verbs

The nosotros form of -AR verbs looks the same in present and preterite: hablamos can mean "we speak" or "we spoke." Students sometimes use the wrong tense.

Tip: Pay attention to context and time expressions. If you see ayer or la semana pasada, you know it's preterite. If there's no time marker, look at surrounding verbs for clues.

chatImportant

Mistake 3: Using regular endings with irregular verbs

Students sometimes try to conjugate irregular verbs like ir or tener using regular patterns: "yo iro" instead of yo fui, or "yo tení" instead of yo tuve.

Tip: Memorise the key irregular verbs. They're very common, so learning them well is time well spent. Make flashcards or use spaced repetition to drill these forms. Focus especially on: ir, ser, estar, tener, hacer, poder, poner, venir, decir, and saber.

chatImportant

Mistake 4: Applying stem changes to all forms

When using -IR stem-changing verbs, students sometimes change the stem in all forms rather than just the third person: "yo pidí" instead of yo pedí.

Tip: Remember that stem changes in the preterite only happen in the él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes forms of -IR verbs. The yo, tú, nosotros, and vosotros forms keep the regular stem.

chatImportant

Mistake 5: Forgetting spelling changes in -GAR, -CAR, -ZAR verbs

Writing "yo jugé" instead of yo jugué or "yo empezé" instead of yo empecé is common.

Tip: Think of the pronunciation. The spelling change maintains the sound of the infinitive. Practice these verbs specifically:

-GAR: jugar → jugué, llegar → llegué
-CAR: buscar → busqué, tocar → toqué
-ZAR: empezar → empecé, comenzar → comencé

chatImportant

Mistake 6: Misplacing reflexive pronouns

Students sometimes put the reflexive pronoun after the verb in the preterite: "levantóse" instead of se levantó.

Tip: In the preterite (and most tenses), reflexive pronouns go before the conjugated verb. Only with infinitives, gerunds, and affirmative commands do they attach to the end. In the preterite: me levanté, te levantaste, se levantó.

Remember!

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Key Points to Remember:

The preterite describes completed actions in the past at specific moments.
Regular -AR verbs use endings: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.
Regular -ER/-IR verbs use endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
Many high-frequency verbs (ir, ser, estar, tener, hacer, etc.) are irregular and must be memorised.
Spelling changes occur in the yo form only of -GAR, -CAR, and -ZAR verbs to maintain pronunciation:
- -GAR → -gué
- -CAR → -qué
- -ZAR → -cé
Only -IR stem-changing verbs have stem changes in the preterite, and only in third person forms (e→i, o→u).
Common time expressions like ayer, la semana pasada, and hace dos días signal preterite usage.
Irregular preterite verbs do not have accent marks on their endings, unlike regular verbs.
Reflexive pronouns go before the conjugated preterite verb.

El Pretérito Indefinido (Preterite) (AQA A-Level Spanish): Revision Notes