6.3 Preterite Tense of Regular Verbs

Overview of the Preterite Tense

• Spanish uses two simple tenses to discuss events in the past: the preterite and the imperfect.
• The preterite tense is specifically used to express actions or states that were completed in the past.

Conjugation of Regular -ar, -er, and -ir Verbs

• Regular -ar Endings (Example Verb: comprar - to buy):     * Singular Forms:         * yo: $\text{compr}é$ (I bought)         * tú: $\text{compraste}$         * Ud./él/ella: $\text{compró}$     * Plural Forms:         * nosotros/as: $\text{compramos}$         * vosotros/as: $\text{comprasteis}$         * Uds./ellos/ellas: $\text{compraron}$

• Regular -er Endings (Example Verb: vender - to sell):     * Singular Forms:         * yo: $\text{vend}í$ (I sold)         * tú: $\text{vendiste}$         * Ud./él/ella: $\text{vendió}$     * Plural Forms:         * nosotros/as: $\text{vendimos}$         * vosotros/as: $\text{vendisteis}$         * Uds./ellos/ellas: $\text{vendieron}$

• Regular -ir Endings (Example Verb: escribir - to write):     * Singular Forms:         * yo: $\text{escribí}$ (I wrote)         * tú: $\text{escribiste}$         * Ud./él/ella: $\text{escribió}$     * Plural Forms:         * nosotros/as: $\text{escribimos}$         * vosotros/as: $\text{escribisteis}$         * Uds./ellos/ellas: $\text{escribieron}$

• Key Observations and Warnings (¡Atención!):     * The endings for regular $-er$ and $-ir$ verbs are identical in the preterite.     * Written accents are required on the last syllable of the $yo$ and $Ud./él/ella$ forms for all three conjugations to indicate proper stress.     * The $nosotros/as$ forms of regular $-ar$ and $-ir$ verbs in the preterite are identical to their present tense forms. Contextual cues must be used to distinguish the tense.         * Present Context Example: $\text{En invierno compramos ropa.}$ (In the winter, we buy clothes.)         * Preterite Context Example: $\text{Anoche compramos unos zapatos.}$ (Last night we bought some shoes.)

Orthographic Spelling Changes in the Yo Form

• Verbs ending in $-car$, $-gar$, and $-zar$ undergo a spelling change in the first person singular ($yo$ form) to maintain pronunciation. All other forms remain regular.
• -car change: $c \rightarrow qu$     * Example: $\text{buscar} \rightarrow \text{yo busqué}$
• -gar change: $g \rightarrow gu$     * Example: $\text{llegar} \rightarrow \text{yo llegué}$
• -zar change: $z \rightarrow c$     * Example: $\text{empezar} \rightarrow \text{yo empecé}$
• Example sentence: $\text{Ayer llegué a Santiago de Cuba.}$ (Yesterday I arrived in Santiago de Cuba.)

Spelling Changes in Other Verbs: creer, leer, and oír

• The verbs creer (to believe), leer (to read), and oír (to hear) undergo specific changes where the $i$ of the ending changes to a $y$ in the third-person forms ($Ud./él/ella$ and $Uds./ellos/ellas$).

• Additionally, the $i$ carries a written accent in the $yo$, $tú$, $nosotros/as$, and $vosotros/as$ forms.

• creer:     * $\text{creí, creíste, creyó, creímos, creísteis, creyeron}$

• leer:     * $\text{leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leísteis, leyeron}$

• oír:     * $\text{oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oísteis, oyeron}$

• Example sentence: $\text{Anoche oí un ruido extraño.}$ (Last night I heard a strange noise.)

The Verb Ver (to see)

• The verb ver is considered regular in the preterite.
• Exception: Unlike other regular preterite verbs, none of its forms carry a written accent.
• Full conjugation: $\text{vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron}$

Stem-Changing Verbs in the Preterite

• -ar and -er Stem-Changers:     * Verbs that have a stem change in the present tense (e.g., $e \rightarrow ie$, $o \rightarrow ue$, $u \rightarrow ue$) are regular in the preterite. They do not maintain their stem change.     * Example cerrar ($e \rightarrow ie$):         * Present: $\text{La tienda cierra a las seis.}$         * Preterite: $\text{La tienda cerró a las seis.}$     * Example volver ($o \rightarrow ue$):         * Present: $\text{Carlitos vuelve tarde.}$         * Preterite: $\text{Carlitos volvió tarde.}$     * Example jugar ($u \rightarrow ue$):         * Present: $\text{Él juega al fùtbol.}$         * Preterite: $\text{Él jugó al fùtbol.}$

• -ir Stem-Changers:     * ¡Atención! Verbs that end in $-ir$ and have a stem change in the present tense also have a stem change in the preterite.

Temporal Markers commonly used with the Preterite

• anoche: last night
• anteayer: the day before yesterday
• ayer: yesterday
• de repente: suddenly
• desde… hasta…: from… until…
• pasado/a (adj.): last; past     * el año pasado: last year     * la semana pasada: last week
• una vez: once
• dos veces: twice
• ya: already

The Construction Acabar de + [infinitive]

• This construction is used to state that something has just occurred.
• Grammar Note: In this construction, the verb acabar is used in the present tense.
• Examples:     * $\text{Acabo de comprar una falda.}$ (I just bought a skirt.)     * $\text{Acabas de ir de compras.}$ (You just went shopping.)

Supplemental Information and Visual Cues

• Consulta References:     * Information regarding high-frequency irregular verbs in the preterite can be found in Estructura 9.1, p. 310.     * Detailed rules for $-ir$ stem-changing verbs in the preterite are located in Estructura 8.1, p. 274.

• Dialogue from Visuals:     * Speaker A: $\text{¡Ya decidí! ¡El rojo!}$ (I've already decided! The red one!)     * Speaker B: $\text{Las compré aquí la semana pasada.}$ (I bought them here last week.)