Preterite
Pretérito
The simple past for completed, specific events.
The rule
The preterite (pretérito) is the simple past for completed, bounded events: actions that happened at a specific time or a definite number of times. Regular endings for -ar: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron; for -er/-ir: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Key irregulars share a special stem with no accents: ser/ir (identical: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron), hacer (hice, hizo…), tener (tuve…), estar (estuve…), decir (dije, dijeron…), poder (pude…), poner (puse…), venir (vine…), dar (di, dio…). Spelling changes in 'yo': -car → -qué (buscar→busqué), -gar → -gué (llegar→llegué), -zar → -cé (empezar→empecé); and i→y in the 3rd person of leer/oír (leyó, leyeron).
Examples
Ayer hablé con ella.
Yesterday I spoke with her.
Fuimos al cine anoche.
We went to the cinema last night. (ir, irregular)
Hizo mucho calor el sábado.
It was very hot on Saturday. (hacer → hizo (z))
Llegué tarde a la reunión.
I arrived late to the meeting. (-gar → llegué)
Ella leyó el libro en un día.
She read the book in one day. (leer → leyó (i→y))
Try it yourself
Three quick questions, straight from the app. No sign-up needed.
Ayer ___ tarde a la oficina.
Yesterday I arrived late to the office.
All 24 Preterite questions, free in Hablaba
Hablaba spots this exact rule in your real conversations and points you back to the quiz for it. The drills feed the speaking, which is the point of the whole app.
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