VIA: Lesson - Pretérito indefinido verbos regulares

A person sits in contemplation as they watch a sunset.Pretérito indefinido verbos regulares

Pretérito indefinido verbos regulares - The Simple Past Tense (preterit) for Regular Verbs.

Look at the image to the right: what do you think this person is thinking about? Perhaps they are contemplating some past actions - reminiscing or fondly remembering things that they have done before.

Note: the English grammar term preterit has two common spellings:

  • preterit
  • preterite

We have selected the first spelling for this course, but you may encounter the other spellings in videos or other locations.

Pretérito indefinido

Unlike in English, the pretérito indefinido (the simple past) tense in Spanish is a bit harder to master.

  • In English, you simply use the same form of the verb for every pronoun: I walked. You walked. They walked. etc.
  • In Spanish, each pronoun (yo, tú, él/ella/usted, etc.) has its own past form. much like the present tense.

The best way to learn it is by memorizing, reviewing, reading, practicing speaking with natives, and watching films. As you grow accustomed to hearing Spanish spoken, it will become almost like second nature.

When Should We Use the Pretérito Indefinido?

Before we start working on memorizing forms, let's cover some basic information on when to use the simple past in Spanish. The pretérito indefinido is used to express:

  • a completed action at some point or moment in the past.
  • the beginning or end of an action in the past.
  • an action in the past that interrupts an action that was already taking place (this involves another past tense called imperfecto).

Time words that trigger pretérito indefinido

There are some words that will make it easy to identify when to use this tense:

  • ayer, anoche, anteayer or antes de ayer
    • yesterday, last night, the day before yesterday
  • la semana pasada, el mes / año
    • last week/month / year
  • El verano pasado / El invierno pasado / el otoño pasado / la primavera pasada
    • last summer / last winter / last fall / last spring.
  • hace # días / hace # semanas / hace # meses / hace # años
    • # days ago / # weeks ago / # months ago / # years ago
    • Example: hace tres semanas = three weeks ago

Examples

  • La semana pasada caminé hasta el parque.
    • Last week I walked to the park.
  • El fin de semana pasado, mi hermana Anna viajó a Tennessee en tren.
    • Last weekend, my sister Anna traveled to Tennessee by train.
  • El verano pasado mis padres viajaron a Perú.
    • Last summer my parents traveled to Perú.
  • Hace dos años montamos en bicicleta por primera vez.
    • Two years ago, we rode bikes for the first time.

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