Indicative Past Tenses

There are basically two main past tenses in Spanish which are not in compound form. These are the preterite 

tense and the imperfect tense. It is important to learn how to form each tense and when to use it.

In this post I will explain the preterite tense.

The preterite tense

The preterite tense is formed by taking the stem of the verb and adding these endings:

Verbs with an –IR or –ER ending

Yo - Í

Tú - ISTE

Él, ella - IÓ

Nosotros - IMOS

Vosotros - ISTEIS

Ellos, ellas – IERON

For example;

“Comí mi bocadillo con mis amigos durante la hora de la comida.” – “I ate my sándwich with my friends during the lunch hour.”

Verbs with an –AR ending

Yo - É

Tú - ASTE

Él, ella - Ó

Nosotros - AMOS

Vosotros - ASTEIS

Ellos, ellas – ARON

For example;

“Mis amigas terminaron sus deberes antes de la clase.” – “My friends finished their homework before the class.”

However, as is the case with most tenses, there are some irregular verbs you should know.

IR – to go (this one is highly irregular)

Fui

Fuiste

Fue

Fuimos

Fuisteis

Fueron

SER – to be (you will notice that the preterite tense for this one is the same as for IR, handy)

Fui

Fuiste

Fue

Fuimos

Fuisteis

Fueron

ESTAR – to be

Estuve

Estuviste

Estuvo

Estuvimos

Estuvisteis

Estuvieron

HACER – to do, to make

Hice

Hiciste

Hizo

Hicimos

Hicisteis

Hicieron

TENER – to have

Tuve

Tuviste

Tuvo

Tuvimos

Tuvisteis

Tuvieron

When do I use the preterite tense?

The preterite tense is used to describe events that were completed (or seen as completed) in the past. For example;

“El año pasado fui a España.” – “Last year I went to Spain.”

Here the preterite is used because the event is completed. The holiday was a one off, not an ongoing action that I did often.

The preterite is also used for an event that continued throughout a set period of time. For example;

“Estuvieron destinado en Barcelona tres años.” – “They were stationed in Barcelona for three years.”

Here the preterite is used because it is an event that happened in the past and the exact time frame is given.