You are viewing a free preview of this lesson.
Subscribe to unlock all 10 lessons in this course and every other course on LearningBro.
The pretérito indefinido (often simply called the preterite) is one of the two main past tenses in Spanish. It is used to talk about completed actions in the past — things that happened at a specific time, had a clear beginning and end, or occurred as a single event.
In this first lesson, we will focus on regular -AR verbs in the preterite, which are the most common verb group in Spanish.
The preterite is used for:
Key idea: If the action is done and finished, use the preterite.
To conjugate a regular -AR verb in the preterite, remove the -ar infinitive ending and add the following endings:
| Person | Ending | Example: hablar (to speak) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | hablé |
| tú | -aste | hablaste |
| él / ella / usted | -ó | habló |
| nosotros / nosotras | -amos | hablamos |
| vosotros / vosotras | -asteis | hablasteis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | -aron | hablaron |
Important: Notice the accent marks on the yo form (-é) and the él/ella/usted form (-ó). These accents are essential — they distinguish the preterite from other tenses. Hablo (I speak, present) vs. habló (he/she spoke, preterite).
Here are some of the most frequently used regular -AR verbs:
| Infinitive | Meaning |
|---|---|
| hablar | to speak |
| caminar | to walk |
| trabajar | to work |
| estudiar | to study |
| comprar | to buy |
| cocinar | to cook |
| llamar | to call |
| llegar | to arrive |
| tomar | to take / to drink |
| viajar | to travel |
| bailar | to dance |
| cantar | to sing |
| cenar | to have dinner |
| desayunar | to have breakfast |
| limpiar | to clean |
| Person | Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | I spoke |
| tú | hablaste | you spoke |
| él / ella / usted | habló | he/she/you (formal) spoke |
| nosotros/as | hablamos | we spoke |
| vosotros/as | hablasteis | you all spoke |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaron | they/you all (formal) spoke |
| Person | Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | caminé | I walked |
| tú | caminaste | you walked |
| él / ella / usted | caminó | he/she walked |
| nosotros/as | caminamos | we walked |
| vosotros/as | caminasteis | you all walked |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | caminaron | they walked |
| Person | Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | trabajé | I worked |
| tú | trabajaste | you worked |
| él / ella / usted | trabajó | he/she worked |
| nosotros/as | trabajamos | we worked |
| vosotros/as | trabajasteis | you all worked |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | trabajaron | they worked |
| Person | Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | estudié | I studied |
| tú | estudiaste | you studied |
| él / ella / usted | estudió | he/she studied |
| nosotros/as | estudiamos | we studied |
| vosotros/as | estudiasteis | you all studied |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | estudiaron | they studied |
| Person | Conjugation | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | compré | I bought |
| tú | compraste | you bought |
| él / ella / usted | compró | he/she bought |
| nosotros/as | compramos | we bought |
| vosotros/as | comprasteis | you all bought |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | compraron | they bought |
Notice that the nosotros form in the preterite is identical to the present tense for -AR verbs:
Context will always make the meaning clear:
The accent marks in the preterite are not optional. They change the meaning of the word:
| Without accent | Meaning | With accent | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| hablo | I speak (present) | habló | he/she spoke (preterite) |
| llamo | I call (present) | llamó | he/she called (preterite) |
| canto | I sing (present) | cantó | he/she sang (preterite) |
| tomo | I take (present) | tomó | he/she took (preterite) |
Tip: Always write the accents. In conversation, stress patterns make the difference audible: HAH-blo (present) vs. ah-BLOH (preterite).
Certain words and phrases signal that the preterite is needed:
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ayer | yesterday |
| anteayer | the day before yesterday |
| anoche | last night |
| la semana pasada | last week |
| el mes pasado | last month |
| el año pasado | last year |
| hace dos días | two days ago |
| en 2020 | in 2020 |
| una vez | once |
| de repente | suddenly |
Read through these sentences and identify the preterite -AR conjugation:
Some -AR verbs have spelling changes in the yo form only to preserve the correct pronunciation. These are not truly irregular — the sound stays the same; only the spelling adjusts:
| Verb | Change | Yo form | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| buscar (to look for) | c → qu | busqué | ce would sound like "se" |
| llegar (to arrive) | g → gu | llegué | ge would sound like "he" |
| empezar (to begin) | z → c | empecé | Spanish avoids ze |
| tocar (to touch/play) | c → qu | toqué | same as buscar |
| pagar (to pay) | g → gu | pagué | same as llegar |
| almorzar (to have lunch) | z → c | almorcé | same as empezar |
Important: These spelling changes only affect the yo form. All other forms are completely regular: llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegasteis, llegaron.
In the next lesson, we will learn the preterite endings for -ER and -IR verbs.