The simple past tense, also known as the Preterite (Pretérito Indefinido or Pretérito Perfecto Simple), is used to describe actions or events that were completed at a specific point in the past.

When to Use the Spanish Simple Past Tense

The Preterite tense is used for:

1. Completed Actions in the Past

Actions that began and ended at a definite time in the past.

  • Ayer comí pizza. (Yesterday I ate pizza.)
  • Él vivió en Madrid por tres años. (He lived in Madrid for three years.)
  • Nosotros terminamos el proyecto la semana pasada. (We finished the project last week.)

2. Sequence of Events

Describing a series of completed actions in the past.

  • Me levanté, me duché y salí de casa. (I got up, I showered, and I left the house.)

  • Ella entró, vio la carta y sonrió. (She entered, saw the letter, and smiled.)

3. Actions Interrupting Ongoing Events

An action that interrupts another action that was in progress (often described with the Imperfect tense).

  • Yo leía (imperfect) cuando el teléfono sonó (preterite). (I was reading when the phone rang.)

  • Mientras caminábamos (imperfect), vimos (preterite) un accidente. (While we were walking, we saw an accident.)

4. Beginning or End of an Action

Indicating the start or finish of a past action.

  • La película empezó a las nueve. (The movie started at nine.)
  • El curso terminó en junio. (The course ended in June.)

Simple Past Tense Conjugation

Conjugating verbs in the Preterite involves removing the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and adding the specific Preterite endings. Note that -er and -ir verbs share the same endings in the Preterite.

Regular Preterite Endings

-AR Verb Endings

  • yo: -é
  • tú: -aste
  • él/ella/usted: -ó
  • nosotros/as: -amos
  • vosotros/as: -asteis
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes: -aron

-ER / -IR Verb Endings

  • yo: -í
  • tú: -iste
  • él/ella/usted: -ió
  • nosotros/as: -imos
  • vosotros/as: -isteis
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes: -ieron

Regular Verb Conjugation Examples

Hablar (to speak)

  • yo hablé (I spoke)
  • tú hablaste (you spoke)
  • él/ella/usted habló (he/she/you spoke)
  • nosotros/as hablamos (we spoke)
  • vosotros/as hablasteis (you all spoke [Spain])
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron (they/you all spoke)

Comer (to eat)

  • yo comí (I ate)
  • tú comiste (you ate)
  • él/ella/usted comió (he/she/you ate)
  • nosotros/as comimos (we ate)
  • vosotros/as comisteis (you all ate [Spain])
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron (they/you all ate)

Vivir (to live)

  • yo viví (I lived)

  • tú viviste (you lived)

  • él/ella/usted vivió (he/she/you lived)

  • nosotros/as vivimos (we lived)

  • vosotros/as vivisteis (you all lived [Spain])

  • ellos/ellas/ustedes vivieron (they/you all lived)

Watch out! The nosotros forms of regular -ar and -ir verbs in the Preterite are identical to their Present Tense forms (e.g., hablamos, vivimos). Context is key to understanding whether the present or past is meant.

Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past Tense

The Preterite tense has many irregular verbs, often involving stem changes and unique sets of endings. Some common groups include:

1. Stem-Changing -IR Verbs (e → i, o → u)

These verbs change their stem vowel only in the third person singular (él/ella/usted) and plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes) forms.

Pedir (to ask for): e → i

  • yo pedí
  • tú pediste

  • él/ella/usted pidió

  • nosotros/as pedimos
  • vosotros/as pedisteis

  • ellos/ellas/ustedes pidieron

Dormir (to sleep): o → u

  • yo dormí
  • tú dormiste

  • él/ella/usted durmió

  • nosotros/as dormimos
  • vosotros/as dormisteis

  • ellos/ellas/ustedes durmieron

Other verbs in this group: sentir (sintió, sintieron), morir (murió, murieron), preferir (prefirió, prefirieron), seguir (siguió, siguieron), etc.

2. Verbs with Spelling Changes (for pronunciation)

Some verbs change spelling in the ‘yo’ form to maintain the consonant sound.

-car → -qué

Buscar: yo busqué

-gar → -gué

Llegar: yo llegué

-zar → -cé

Empezar: yo empecé

3. Verbs with ‘i → y’ changes

For -er and -ir verbs whose stem ends in a vowel, the ‘i’ of the third person endings changes to ‘y’. These forms also gain accent marks on the ‘i’ in other forms.

Leer (to read)

  • yo leí

  • tú leíste

  • él/ella/usted leyó

  • nosotros/as leímos

  • vosotros/as leísteis

  • ellos/ellas/ustedes leyeron

Construir (to build)

  • yo construí

  • tú construíste

  • él/ella/usted construyó

  • nosotros/as construímos

  • vosotros/as construísteis

  • ellos/ellas/ustedes construyeron

Other verbs: caer (cayó, cayeron), creer (creyó, creyeron), oír (oyó, oyeron), huir (huyó, huyeron).

4. Verbs with Irregular Stems and Endings (“U-Stem”, “I-Stem”, “J-Stem”)

These verbs have unique stems in the Preterite and use a different set of endings (without accent marks):

Irregular Endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron (or -eron for J-stems)

U-Stem Examples

  • tener → tuv- (tuve, tuviste…)

  • estar → estuv- (estuve, estuviste…)

  • poder → pud- (pude, pudiste…)

  • poner → pus- (puse, pusiste…)

  • saber → sup- (supe, supiste…)

  • haber → hub- (hube, hubiste…)

  • andar → anduv- (anduve, anduviste…)

I-Stem Examples

  • querer → quis- (quise, quisiste…)

  • venir → vin- (vine, viniste…)

  • hacer → hic- (hice, hiciste, hizo …)

J-Stem Examples (-eron ending)

  • decir → dij- (dije, dijiste…, dijeron)

  • traer → traj- (traje, trajiste…, trajeron)

  • conducir → conduj- (conduje, condujiste…, condujeron)

  • (and other -ucir verbs)

5. Ser and Ir (Identical Irregular Forms)

The verbs ser (to be) and ir (to go) have the exact same, highly irregular conjugation in the Preterite.

Ser / Ir (to be / to go)

  • yo fui (I was / I went)

  • tú fuiste (you were / you went)

  • él/ella/usted fue (he/she/you was/were / he/she/you went)

  • nosotros/as fuimos (we were / we went)

  • vosotros/as fuisteis (you all were / you all went [Spain])

  • ellos/ellas/ustedes fueron (they/you all were / they/you all went)

6. Dar and Ver (Slightly Irregular)

Dar (to give) and Ver (to see) use the regular -er/-ir endings but without the accent marks.

Dar (to give)

  • yo di
  • tú diste
  • él/ella/usted dio
  • nosotros/as dimos
  • vosotros/as disteis
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes dieron

Ver (to see)

  • yo vi
  • tú viste
  • él/ella/usted vio
  • nosotros/as vimos
  • vosotros/as visteis
  • ellos/ellas/ustedes vieron

Common Time Expressions with Simple Past

The Preterite is often used with time expressions that indicate a specific, completed past time frame:

  • ayer(yesterday)

    Ayer fuimos al cine.

  • anoche(last night)

    Anoche cené con María.

  • anteayer(the day before yesterday)

    Anteayer llegó mi hermano.

  • la semana pasada(last week)

    La semana pasada visité a mis abuelos.

  • el mes/año pasado(last month/year)

    El año pasado viajaron a Europa.

  • hace + time period(ago)

    Compré este coche hace dos años.

  • en + year(in + year)

    Nació en 1995.

  • el otro día(the other day)

    El otro día vi a Juan en el supermercado.

  • una vez(once, one time)

    Una vez comí paella en Valencia.

Preterite vs. Imperfect

One of the biggest challenges for Spanish learners is choosing between the Preterite and the Imperfect. Remember:

  • Preterite: Completed actions, specific time, sequence of events, beginning/end of actions, interrupting actions. (Think: snapshot, completed event)
  • Imperfect: Ongoing actions, descriptions (time, weather, age, feelings), habitual actions in the past, background information. (Think: video camera, setting the scene)

See our dedicated guide comparing Preterite vs. Imperfect for more details and examples. (Link to be created)

Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Forgetting Accent Marks

Accents are crucial in the Preterite (yo and él/ella/usted forms of regular verbs). Omitting them can change the meaning or tense.

  • hablo (present) vs. habló (preterite)

  • como (present) vs. comió (preterite)

2. Incorrect Irregular Verb Forms

Memorizing the common irregular stems and endings is essential.

  • Incorrect: Yo tení

  • Correct: Yo tuve

  • Incorrect: Él hació

  • Correct: Él hizo

3. Using Preterite for Descriptions

Use the Imperfect tense for descriptions of people, places, or situations in the past.

  • Incorrect: La casa fue grande y bonita.

  • Correct: La casa era grande y bonita.

4. Confusing Ser/Ir Conjugations

Remember fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron apply to both verbs.

Context determines the meaning:

  • Fui a la tienda. (I went to the store - Ir)

  • Fui estudiante. (I was a student - Ser)

Practice What You’ve Learned

Ready to test your knowledge of the Spanish simple past tense? Head over to our Practice page and select the pretérito indefinido option to practice with unlimited new sentences and examples.

The practice tool will generate new sentences each time, allowing you to reinforce your understanding of preterite tense conjugations and usage in various contexts.