40 Most Common Verbs Practicing Past Tense

Question 1

to be (character)
To transform, to convert (reflexive)
I was a student before I became an artist

Answer 1

ser

“Yo fui estudiante antes de convertirme en artista.

Question 2

to be (state)

I was going to the restaurant to buy a bowl of stew

Answer 2

estar

Yo iba al restaurante a comprar un plato de estofado.”

Question 3

To become, referring to a temporary state

You have to have patience with her when she becomes (puts herself) agitated.

Answer 3

Poner

Tienes que tener paciencia con ella cuando se pone agitada.

Question 4

to go
I was going to leave the restaurant when you arrived

Answer 4

ir

Yo iba a salir del restaurante cuando llegaste.”

Question 5

to do/make
I did everything correct until you arrived

Answer 5

hacer

Hacia todo correctamente hasta que llegaste.
When hasta (until) is followed by a verb it needs to be used with “que”

Hacía Ongoing, repeated, or descriptive past action.
Hice One-time, completed past action.

Question 6

to say
They said it would be alright to go to the movies without you

Answer 6

decir

Ellos dijeron que estaría bien ir al cine sin ti.”

Question 7

to see
I saw many things before I decided to speak with you

Answer 7

ver

Vi muchas cosas antes de decidir hablar contigo.”

Question 8

to give
Rule
We gave her credit for knowing all the rules

Answer 8

dar
Regla

Le dimos crédito por conocer todas las reglas.”

Question 9

to know (a fact)
They knew everything about you because you sold the car.

Answer 9

saber

Ellos sabían todo sobre ti porque vendiste el coche.

Question 10

to think
Back
Front
We thought the back seat would be safer than the front seat

Answer 10

pensar
Trasero
Delantero

Pensamos que el asiento trasero sería más seguro que el asiento delantero.

Question 11

to come
For a while
Marie came over for a while and then (after) she needed to return home

Answer 11

venir
Por un rato
“Marie vino por un rato y luego necesitó regresar a casa.”

Question 12

to want
You wanted more ( of what) than I could give

Answer 12

querer

“Querías más de lo que yo podía darte

Question 13

Subjective
to leave
We left before anyone saw us

Answer 13

Irnos

Nos fuimos antes de que alguien nos viera

Question 14

to arrive
Who arrived without paying the entrance fee

Answer 14

llegar

¿Quién llegó sin pagar la tarifa de entrada?”

Question 15

to eat
We ate the same thing you ate and it was good

Answer 15

comer

“Comimos lo mismo que tú comiste y estaba bueno

Question 16

to drink
We drank too many sodas and forgot that we were hungry

Answer 16

Beber

Bebimos demasiados refrescos y olvidamos que teníamos hambre

Question 17

to take away, remove
Who took the paper and pen off the table

Answer 17

Quitar

¿Quién quitó el papel y el bolígrafo de la mesa

Question 18

to learn
She learned there was more to do than reading a book

Answer 18

aprender

Ella aprendió que había más que hacer que leer un libro.
más que hacer
más que decir
más que ver
más que aprender
más que ofrecer
más que comer

Question 19

to teach
Which teacher taught the children to sing

Answer 19

enseñar

”¿Qué maestro enseñó a los niños a cantar?

Question 20

to write
They wrote many letters before they thought it is better to see you.

Answer 20

escribir

Escribieron muchas cartas antes de pensar que es mejor verte.

Question 21

to read
All the people read the list before they went inside (entered)

Answer 21

leer

Todas las personas leyeron la lista antes de entrar

Question 22

to call
They called her Mary before she changed her name

Answer 22

llamar

La llamaban Mary antes de que cambiara su nombre.

Question 23

to listen
I heard that there is a way to bring peace to a bad situation

Answer 23

Escuchar

Escuché que hay una manera de traer paz a una mala situación.

Question 24

to walk
they walked for three miles before they found the right street

Answer 24

caminar

Caminaron tres millas antes de encontrar la calle correcta.

Question 25

to run Which person ran to the laundromat to pick up the clean clothes

Answer 25

correr ¿Qué persona corrió a la lavandería a recoger la ropa limpia?”

Question 26

to open we opened a jar of peaches and drank the juice

Answer 26

abrir Abrimos un frasco de duraznos y bebimos el jugo

Question 27

to close We closed the door and accidentally locked ourselves inside

Answer 27

cerrar “Cerramos la puerta y accidentalmente nos encerramos adentro.”

Question 28

to study You studied for many years before you were able to teach

Answer 28

estudiar Estudiaste durante muchos años antes de poder enseñar.”

Question 29

to play she played the guitar to a group of women

Answer 29

Tocar Ella tocó la guitarra para un grupo de mujeres.

Question 30

to work To move forward, to advance Who worked with the group to move things forward

Answer 30

trabajar Avanzar ¿Quién trabajó con el grupo para avanzar las cosas?”

Question 31

to buy We bought several pineapples and ate them with cottage cheese

Answer 31

comprar Compramos varias piñas y las comimos con requesón

Question 32

to sell We sold our house to the neighbor down the street

Answer 32

vender Vendimos nuestra casa al vecino de la calle.”

Question 33

to help John helped carry the baggage to the car

Answer 33

ayudar John ayudó a llevar el equipaje al coche

Question 34

to need We needed to pick up some groceries before we went on vacation

Answer 34

necesitar “ Necesitábamos comprar algunos víveres antes de irnos de vacaciones.” 1. Fuimos = We went • It’s the preterite tense of the verb ir for nosotros. • It tells you what happened in the past. Examples: • Fuimos al cine ayer. — We went to the movies yesterday. • Fuimos muy felices en ese viaje. — We were very happy on that trip. ⸻ 2. Irnos = To leave / for us to go • It’s the reflexive infinitive form of irse (to leave / to go away). • It’s used after another verb, like querer, tener que, vamos a, etc. Examples: • Tenemos que irnos. — We have to leave. • Vamos a irnos pronto. — We’re going to leave soon. • Quiero irnos ya. — I want us to leave now. (Note: More natural is quiero que nos vayamos)

Question 35

he bought a new car and it appears to be working great except for that strange noise

Answer 35

Compró un nuevo carro y parece que funciona genial, excepto por ese ruido extraño.

Question 36

to find (se) where was the spoon found after I used it.

Answer 36

Encontrar ¿Dónde se encontró la cuchara después de que la usé? In Spanish, when one action follows another and each has its own subject, we often use “después de que” (after that), not just “después de” (after). “que” is needed because what comes next is a full clause, not just an infinitive.

Question 37

to lose I lost my thought after Juan interrupted the conversation

Answer 37

perder “Perdí mi idea después de que Juan interrumpió la conversación.”

Question 38

to live To rest We looked for a place to rest and found a paradise where we could live.

Answer 38

vivir Decansar Buscamos un lugar para descansar y encontramos un paraíso donde vivir.

Question 39

to die When I died I hoped to be remembered for my humor

Answer 39

morir Cuando morí, esperé ser recordado por mi sentido del humor

Question 40

It was fun. The food was delicious. How was your day?

Answer 40

Estuvo divertido. La comida estuvo riquísima. ¿Cómo estuvo tu día?

Question 41

in Spanish, nouns like, “manera,” “forma,” “modo,” etc., you use “de” + infinitive. “manera de” comer = “way of eating” Ways / Methods of manera, forma, modo Opportunities of oportunidad, posibilidad Intentions / Reasons of intención decisión, razón, propósito (purpose) Abilities / Difficulties of capacidad, facilidad, dificultad Needs / Obligations of necesidad, obligación, deber (duty) Use the infinitive alone after verbs (most of the time) There are exceptions that need to be memorized. Below are some common Verbs That Use “de + infinitive” Dejar de = to stop (doing something) I stopped smoking. Tratar de = to try (to do something) I try to learn every day. Acabar de = to have just (done something) I just arrived. Acordarse de = to remember (to do something) I remembered to call my mom. Olvidarse de = to forget (to do something) He forgot to close the door. Encargarse de = to take care of / be in charge of I’ll take care of making the reservation. Tratarse de = to be about (when describing something) The movie is about a spiritual journey.

Answer 41

Dejé de fumar. (I stopped smoking.) Trato de aprender cada día. (I try to learn every day.) Acabo de llegar. (I just arrived.) Me acordé de llamar a mi madre. (I remembered to call my mom.) Se olvidó de cerrar la puerta. (He forgot to close the door.) Me encargo de hacer la reservación. (I’ll take care of making the reservation.) La película se trata de un viaje espiritual. (The movie is about a spiritual journey.)

Question 42

To leave / go out / exit Focusing on— you moving yourself out of a place. (I’m going to leave the house.) (We left the restaurant at nine.) (She goes out with her friends on weekends.) To leave something or someone behind Focusing on leaving something else — like an object, a person, or an idea. (I left the keys on the table.) (Don’t leave me alone.) (He left his job.)

Answer 42

Salir To leave / go out / exit Voy a salir de la casa. Salimos del restaurante a las nueve. Ella sale con sus amigos los fines de semana. Dejar = To leave something or someone behind Dejé las llaves en la mesa. No me dejes solo. Él dejó su trabajo.

Question 43

To remember I remember your name. Do you remember closing the door? Bonus: It can also mean “to remind” She reminded me about the appointment. To agree usually + infinitive” or que… We agreed to leave early. They agreed that it was the best thing. Also this verb in it’s reflexive form can mean, To remember Do you remember me? I remember closing the door.

Answer 43

Recordar Recuerdo tu nombre. ¿Recuerdas cerrar la puerta? Ella me recordó la cita. Acordar Acordamos salir temprano. Acordaron que era lo mejor. Acordarse de ¿Te acuerdas de mí? Me acuerdo de cerrar la puerta.

Question 44

To schedule

Answer 44

Agendar

Question 45

Hopefully you find what you’re looking for.

Answer 45

Ojalá que encuentres lo que buscas.

Question 46

I don’t need to learn Spanish. I just need to spend time with it. I let it unfold like a story, not like a spreadsheet.

Answer 46

No necesito aprender español. Solo necesito pasar tiempo con él. Lo dejo desplegarse como una historia, no como una hoja de cálculo.

Question 47

to move across, to pass through I added current themes in order to reflect on how people move through their youth.

Answer 47

atravesar Agregué temas actuales para reflexionar sobre cómo las personas atraviesan sus juventudes.

Question 48

From scratch Supplier To substitute I kept creating from scratch until the supplier substituted the peanut butter with oats.

Answer 48

Desde cero Proveedor Sustituir Guardé creando desde cero hasta que el proveedor sustituyó la crema de cacahuate con avena.

Question 49

The smoothy was made with cherries apricots pomegranate figs and crunchy almond butter.

Answer 49

El licuado se hizo con cerezas, albaricoques, granada, higos y crema de almendras crujiente.

Question 50

The season of the year inspired hikes and spicy conversation.

Answer 50

La estación del año inspiró caminatas y conversaciones especiadas.

Question 51

To fit (in) (subjunctive) and irregular Conjugate present preterite and subjunctive present and past I used to fold and unfold the clothes in order to fit them into the suitcase.

Answer 51

Caber en Plegaba y desplegaba la ropa para que cupiera en el equipaje. Present Yo quepo Tú cabes Él/Ella/Usted cabe Nosotros/as cabemos Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes caben Preterite Person Conjugation Yo cupe Tú cupiste Él/Ella/Usted cupo Nosotros/as cupimos Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes cupieron Present subjunctive Yo quepa Tú quepas Él/Ella/Usted quepa Nosotros/as quepamos Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes quepan Past subjunctive Yo cupiera Tú cupieras Él/Ella/Usted cupiera Nosotros/as cupiéramos Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes cupieran

Question 52

I can stay provided that I don’t make noise.

Answer 52

Puedo quedarme con tal de que no haga ruido.

Question 53

We strolled through the historic center. I’m going to walk the dog. We like to go for bike rides.

Answer 53

Paseamos por el centro histórico. Pasear + por (through/by): usually means to stroll or wander Voy a pasear al perro. Pasear + a + [person/animal]: usually means to take someone for a walk Nos gusta pasear en bicicleta. Pasear + en + [vehicle]: usually means to go for a ride