THE PRETERITE TENSE Preterite Up to now we’ve talked about actions that happen in the present, that happen on a regular basis, or that are happening.

THE PRETERITE TENSE

PreteritePreterite

Up to now we’ve talked about actions that happen in the present, that happen on a regular basis, or that are happening right now. These verbs are in the simple present or present progressive.

Preterite = Preterite = PAST COMPLETED PAST COMPLETED ACTIONSACTIONS

Next we’re going to learn how to talk about the past in Spanish. One way is to talk about an action that started and finished in the past. This tense is called the preterite.

Some clue Words to help us!

Ayer = yesterday El verano pasado = last summer La semana pasada = last week El fin de semana pasado = last weekend El mes pasado = last month

PreteritePreterite

In English, a preterite form looks like this:

– walk > walked– play > played– say > said– drive > drove– be > was, were

Some are regular (predictable): play > played

Others are irregular (unpredictable): go > went

PreteritePreterite

In this presentation, we’ll look at the regular preterite endings.

Here’s a typical one:– yo hablé– tú hablaste– él habló– nosotros hablamos– ellos hablaron

FormsForms

The endings for –AR verbs are:– yo - é– tú - aste– él - ó– nosotros - amos– ellos - aron

Notice the accent marks on the yo and él forms. They are very important!

Also notice that the nosotros form is the same in both the present and the preterite.

Let’s Practice!Let’s Practice!

Charlar– yo _______– tú _______– él _______– nosotros _______– ellos _______

CharlarCharlar

yo charlé tú charlaste él charló nosotros charlamos ellos charlaron

Otro verbo, por favor!Otro verbo, por favor!

Cenar– yo _______– tú _______– él _______– nosotros _______– ellos _______

CenarCenar

yo cené tú cenaste él cenó nosotros cenamos ellos cenaron

-car, -gar, -zar verbs

Verbs that end in –car, -gar,and -zar have a spelling change in the yo form

Example: yo saqué, yo pagué yo almorcé

Sacar= to takeSacar= to take

sacar– yo _______– tú _______– él _______– nosotros _______– ellos _______

SacarSacar

yo saqué tú sacaste él sacó nosotros sacamos ellos sacaron

Verbs whose bases end in –car make a spelling change in the yo form only: cé > qué

It’s a spelling change to retain the original pronunciation.

Otro verbo semejante…Otro verbo semejante…

pagar– yo _______– tú _______– él _______– nosotros _______– ellos _______

PagarPagar

yo pagué tú pagaste él pagó nosotros pagamos ellos pagaron

Verbs whose bases end in –gar make a spelling change in the yo form only: gé > gué

Un grupo mUn grupo más…ás…

almorzar– yo _______– tú _______– él _______– nosotros _______– ellos _______

AlmorzarAlmorzar

yo almorcé tú almorzaste él almorzó nosotros almorzamos ellos almorzaron

Verbs that end in –zar make a spelling change in the yo form only: zé > cé

ComenzarComenzar

Try this one! Comenzar

– yo _______– tú _______– él _______– nosotros _______– ellos _______

ComenzarComenzar

yo comencé tú comenzaste él comenzó nosotros comenzamos ellos comenzaron

OK, how about the reflexives?OK, how about the reflexives?

sentarse – yo _______– tú _______– él _______– nosotros _______– ellos _______

SentarseSentarse

yo me senté tú te sentaste él se sentó nosotros nos sentamos ellos se sentaron

Reflexive verbs change in the very same way. Just don’t forget the reflexive pronoun before the main verb.

More Practice

1. Mi amiga ____________ una camisa en Walmart ayer. (comprar)

2. Ellos _______________ en la piscina el verano pasado. (nadar)

3. Yo _________ la cuenta. (pagar)

Check your answers!

1. Mi amiga compró una camisa en Walmart ayer.

2. Ellos nadaron en la piscina el verano pasado.

3. Yo pagué la cuenta. (pagar)