Spanish Preterite Tense

• The Spanish preterite tense describes actions completed in the past at a specific point in time.
• It is one of two simple past tenses, the other being the imperfect.
• The preterite tense is essential for narrating events.

Regular Verb Conjugation

• Regular verbs in the preterite tense follow predictable patterns.
• Conjugation rules vary based on whether the verb ends in -ar, -er, or -ir.
• Verbs ending in -ar use these endings: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.
• Example: hablar (to speak) conjugates to hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron.
• Verbs ending in -er and -ir share preterite endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
• Example of an -er verb: comer (to eat) conjugates to comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron.
• Example of an -ir verb: vivir (to live) conjugates to viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron.

Irregular Verb Forms

• Many Spanish verbs have irregular preterite forms.
• Irregular forms involve stem changes or different conjugations.
• Common irregular verbs include ser/ir, estar, tener, hacer, poder, poner, saber, querer, decir, traer, and venir, andar, dar, ver.
• Ser and ir share preterite conjugations: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron.
• Estar (to be) conjugates to estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron.
• Tener (to have) conjugates to tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron.
• Hacer (to do/make) conjugates to hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron; "hizo" is used for the 3rd person singular.
• Poder (to be able to) conjugates to pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron.
• Poner (to put) conjugates to puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron.
• Saber (to know) conjugates to supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron.
• Querer (to want) conjugates to quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron.
• Decir (to say/tell) conjugates to dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron; note the "j" in all forms except nosotros.
• Traer (to bring) conjugates to traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron.
• Venir (to come) conjugates to vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron.
• Andar (to walk) conjugates to anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron
• Dar (to give) conjugates to di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron
• Ver (to see) conjugates to vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron

Stem-Changing Verbs

• Some verbs with stem changes in the present also change in the preterite.
• Preterite stem changes are limited to -ir verbs in the third-person singular/plural forms (él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes).
• Verbs with "e" in the stem change to "i."
  • Example: sentir (to feel) conjugates to sentí, sentiste, sintió, sentimos, sentisteis, sintieron.
  • Example: preferir (to prefer) conjugates to preferí, preferiste, prefirió, preferimos, preferisteis, prefirieron.
• Verbs with "o" in the stem change to "u."
  • Example: dormir (to sleep) conjugates to dormí, dormiste, durmió, dormimos, dormisteis, durmieron.
  • Example: morir (to die) conjugates to morí, moriste, murió, morimos, moristeis, murieron.

Spelling Changes

• Some verbs have spelling changes in the preterite to maintain pronunciation.
• These changes usually occur in the yo form.
• Verbs ending in -car change to -qué in the yo form; for example, buscar (to look for) -> busqué.
• Verbs ending in -gar change to -gué in the yo form; for example, llegar (to arrive) -> llegué.
• Verbs ending in -zar change to -cé in the yo form; for example, empezar (to begin) -> empecé.
• Verbs ending in -aer, -eer, -oer, or -uir have a "y" instead of an "i" in the third person singular and plural.
  • Example: leer (to read) -> leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leísteis, leyeron.
  • Example: oír (to hear) -> oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oísteis, oyeron.
  • Example: construir (to build) -> construí, construiste, construyó, construimos, construisteis, construyeron.

Usage In Storytelling

• The preterite is crucial for narrating past events.
• It describes specific, completed actions.
• It advances the plot of a story in a sequence of events.
• Example: "Ayer, fui al mercado, compré frutas y regresé a casa" means "Yesterday, I went to the market, bought fruits and returned home."

Contrast With Imperfect Tense

• The preterite contrasts with the imperfect tense, which describes ongoing or habitual past actions.
• The preterite focuses on completed actions while the imperfect describes what was happening or used to happen.
• The preterite is for actions with a definite beginning and end, the imperfect describes background, descriptions, and repeated actions.
• Example: "Cuando era niño, jugaba al fútbol todos los días" (imperfect) translates to "When I was a child, I used to play soccer every day," versus "Ayer jugué al fútbol" (preterite) = "Yesterday I played soccer."
• Both tenses often appear in the same sentence; for example, "Cuando llegué a la fiesta, todos bailaban" means "When I arrived at the party, everyone was dancing."

Common Mistakes

• Confusing the preterite with the imperfect, remember preterite describes specific, completed actions, while the imperfect describes ongoing/habitual actions.
• Incorrectly conjugating irregular verbs a frequent error; memorize irregular forms.
• Forgetting stem changes in -ir verbs in the third-person singular and plural forms.
• Spelling change mistakes in the yo form of -car, -gar, and -zar verbs are common.
• The preterite describes habits or repeated actions in the past, requiring the imperfect tense instead.