The Spanish preterite: saying what happened
You learn the regular indefinido, the Spanish past form for finished, dated events. It is the backbone of telling a story, one action after another. You also learn common time markers and the key written accents that identify this tense.
The rule
In Spanish, the indefinido is used for a finished event. It is closed, completed, and placed at a specific moment in time. Time expressions like “ayer”, “anoche”, “la semana pasada”, “el año pasado”, “en 2019”, and “hace dos días” naturally introduce this idea: the action is over and it does not remain open into the present.
To build the regular indefinido, you change the verb ending. Spanish has three verb classes, -ar, -er, and -ir. The key simplification is that -er and -ir use the same set of endings in this tense. That means that “comer” and “vivir” follow one identical pattern, and you only need to focus on two patterns overall: one for -ar, and one shared by -er and -ir.
At a glance
Regular indefinido, -ar, -er, -ir patterns (with written accents)
| Persona | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | comí | viví |
| tú | hablaste | comiste | viviste |
| él / ella / usted | habló | comió | vivió |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | hablasteis | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaron | comieron | vivieron |
Heard in real Spanish
Native speakers on YouTube, in videos about something other than grammar. The notion is in pink. Each clip starts a second before the line.
Andrés nunca vio su autogol, nunca lo quiso ver.
Andrés never saw his own goal, he never wanted to see it.
Cuando un futbolista fue ASES1NAD0 por un AUTOGOL by Mafia e Historia | Jonah · Watch on YouTube
¿Sabías que este pequeño helicóptero ayudó a capturar a un dictador venezolano?
Did you know this small helicopter helped capture a Venezuelan dictator?
🧠 ¡20 Datos CURIOSOS y cosas que NO sabías hace 5 minutos! 😱#115 by Ver-Para-Creer · Watch on YouTube
Examples
- Ayer hablé con mi madre.Yesterday I talked with my mother.“Ayer” places the event as finished, so “hablé” fits.
- Anoche cené en casa.Last night I had dinner at home.With “anoche”, the action is completed in the past.
- El año pasado trabajé en un hotel.Last year I worked in a hotel.“El año pasado” signals a completed time period.
What to remember
- The indefinido tells a finished, dated event.
- -er and -ir verbs share the same endings.
- For -ar verbs, always write the accents in “hablé” and “habló”.
- Markers like “ayer”, “anoche”, “la semana pasada”, “el año pasado”, “en 2019”, “hace dos días” point to a closed event.
- “Entonces”, “después”, “luego”, “por fin” help you sequence actions.
Check yourself
1 Choose the correct form to complete the sentence. Pay attention to the ending and the written accent.
Ayer yo ___ con mi jefe.
- hablo
- hablé
- habló
- hablaré
Show the answer
hablé. “Ayer” sets a finished event. For “yo” with an -ar verb, the ending is “-é” with an accent: “hablé”.
2 Choose the correct form for “él” with the verb “hablar”.
Mi hermano ___ con el médico.
- hablo
- hablé
- habló
- hablaste
Show the answer
habló. For “él” in the indefinido with -ar, the ending is “-ó” with an accent: “habló”.
Take the full lesson
“The preterite: what happened” in the Streal course: the whole explanation, the quiz, and every YouTube extract picked for it. Free to start, nothing to install. The full lesson goes on with the rest of the explanation and more examples, the common mistakes and the practice quiz.