The Preterite Tense Use of the Preterite Tense

The Preterite Tense

Use of the Preterite Tense 

The preterite is the past tense used to  express an action completed at a definite  time in the past. 

a completed action

For example, we use the preterite tense to talk about  something we did: 

ayer = 

yesterday 

anteayer = 

the day before yesterday 

anoche = 

last night 

el otro día = 

the other day 

hace dos días / años = 

two days ago / years ago 

la semana pasada = el verano pasado = 

last week last summer 

el año pasado = 

last year

Formation of AR verbs 

1. Take off the AR ending to leave the stem. 2. Add the following endings to the stem: 

(Yo) é (Nosotros) amos (Tú) aste (Vosotros) asteis (Él/Ella/Usted) ó (Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes) aron

AR Verb Examples 

Trabajar 

(Yo) trabajé = I worked 

(Tú) trabajaste = You worked (Él/ella/usted) trabajó = He/she/you (f/s) worked 

(Nosotros) trabajamos = We worked (Vosotros) trabajasteis = You (pl) worked (Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes) trabajaron = They/you (f/pl) worked

AR Verb Examples 

Conjugate the following verbs: (yo) intentar 

(nosotros) tomar

(tú) caminar 

(ellos) comentar 

(él) hablar 

(yo) visitar 

AR Verbs 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

1. Yesterday I studied for my math test. 

Ayer estudié para mi examen de  matemáticas. 

AR Verbs 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

2. I finished school in the year 2015. Terminé la escuela en el año 2015.

AR Verbs 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

3. Pablo spoke to María last week. Pablo habló con Maria la semana pasada.

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

4 We walked two miles last night.Caminamos dos millas anoche. 

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

5. They sang Pop music in class. Ellos cantaron música Pop en clase.

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

6. My dad worked in Italy last year. Mi papá trabajó en Italia el año pasado.

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

7. My Granny took yoga classes at the beach  with her girlfriend. 

Mi abuelita tomó clases de yoga en la  playa con su novia.

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 1. Diego worked at the store last year. 

Diego trabajó en la tienda el año pasado. 

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 2. They walked to the park last night. 

Ellos caminaron al parque anoche.

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 3. Cami visited Colombia last summer. 

Cami visitó Colombia el verano pasado.

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

4. They investigated the president the other  day. 

Ellos investigaron al president el otro día.

AR Verb Examples 

Translate the following sentences into Spanish: 

5. My grandma practiced yoga four months  ago. 

Mi abuela practicó yoga hace cuatro  meses.