(7) Preterit: Regular Verbs

Question 1

The preterit is one way to signal past tense in Spanish. The preterit is typically used in sentences or texts in which the focus is on the main events of a story or situation. It is mostly equivalent to simple past in English.

Answer 1

Ayer, Mariano asistió a clase y tomó notas. Luego studio dos horas en la biblioteca. Después comió en la cafeteria y jugó al fútbol con sus amigos. Finalmente, regresó a casa y se acostó temprano.

Yesterday, Mariano attended class and took notes. Then he studied for two hours in the library. Later, he ate in the cafeteria and played soccer with his friends. Lastly, he returned home and went to bed early.

Question 2

Conjugations of Regular Preterit Tense Verbs

Answer 2

Subject Pronoun: -ar Ending → -er Ending → -ir Ending

• Yo: -é → **-í **→ -í
• Tú: **-aste **→ **-iste **→ -iste
• Él/Ella/Ud.: -ó → -ió → -ió
• Nosotros/nosotras: **-amos **→ **-imos **→ -imos
• Vosotros/vosotras: **-asteis **→ **-isteis ** → -isteis
• Ellos/Ellas/Uds.: **-aron **→ -ieron → -ieron

Question 3

The accent on the last vowel of –ar verbs serves to distinguish the preterit from some present tense and command forms, so the written and spoken accent in the preterit is important to accurately convey the meaning of the verb form.

Answer 3

Contrast the following sentences:

• Camin_ó_ hasta el estadio (he/she/you walked into the stadium) vs. Camino** hasta el estadio** (I* walk to the stadium*)
• Camin_é_ hasta el estadio (I walked to the stadium) vs. Camine** hasta el estadio** (walk to the stadium)

Question 4

Given that the nosotros forms of –ar and –ir verbs are the same in the present as in the preterit, you have to use clues in the context to distinguish the intended meaning of the verb:

Answer 4

• Asistimos a un partido de fútbol todos los viernes [We attend a soccer game every Friday]
• Asistimos a un partido de fútbol el sábado pasado [We attended a soccer game last Saturday]