Regular Preterite

Kurz erklärt

The preterite (pretérito) describes actions that were completed at a specific time in the past. Regular verbs use one set of endings for -ar verbs and another for -er and -ir verbs. The endings show who performed the action, so the subject pronoun is often unnecessary.

Bildung

Remove -ar, -er, or -ir and add: -ar: yo -é, tú -aste, él/ella/usted -ó, nosotros -amos, ellos/ellas/ustedes -aron; -er/-ir: yo -í, tú -iste, él/ella/usted -ió, nosotros -imos, ellos/ellas/ustedes -ieron.

Verwendung

• Use it for a completed action: Compré pan.
• Use it for actions tied to a finished time such as ayer, anoche, or la semana pasada.
• Use it for a sequence of completed events.

Beispiele

• Ayer trabajé desde casa. — Yesterday I worked from home.
• Comimos en un restaurante anoche. — We ate at a restaurant last night.
• ¿Recibiste mi mensaje esta mañana? — Did you receive my message this morning?
• Ustedes terminaron el proyecto la semana pasada. — You finished the project last week.

Typischer Fehler

❌ Ayer hablo con Ana.

✅ Ayer hablé con Ana.

Do not use the present-tense ending for a completed past action. The accent in hablé is essential.

Merke

The written accents in forms such as hablé, habló, comí, and comió are part of the verb form. For regular -ar verbs, the nosotros form is identical in the present and preterite, so context shows the time.