Past Flashcards
-ar
past tense
- é
- aste
- ó
- amos
- asteis
- aron
- er
- ir
past tense
- í
- iste
- ió
- imos
- isteis
- ieron
My father arrived yesterday.
My father did arrive yesterday.
Mi padre llegó ayer.
Mary went to church this morning.
Mary did go to church this morning.
María fue a la iglesia esta mañana.
What happened?
What did happen?
¿Qué pasó?
I had breakfast at seven o’clock.
I did have breakfast at seven o’clock.
Tomé el desayuno a las siete.
I left the house.
Salí de casa.
I took the bus.
Tomé el autobús.
I arrived at school at eight o’clock.
Llegué a la escuela a las ocho.
I met her (was introduced to her) last week at the dance.
La conocí la semana pasada en la baile.
[“Conocer,” which means “to know” or “to be acquainted with,” means “met,” that is, “introduced to for the first time,” in the past tense.]
I succeeded in doing it.
Pude hacerlo.
[“Poder” which means “to be able,” means “succeeded” in the past tense.]
I failed to do it.
No pude hacerlo.
[“Poder,” when used in the negative in the past tense, means “failed” or “did not succeed.”
I tried to call you.
Quise llamarle/llamarte.
[“Querer”, which means “to wish” or “to want,” means “tried” in the past tense.]
I refused to do it.
No quise hacerlo.
[“Querer,” when used in the negative in the past tense, means “refused.”]
I found out the truth.
Supe la verdad.
[“Saber,” which means “to know,” means “found out” in the past tense.]
I received a letter from my friend Robert.
Tuve una carta de mi amigo Roberto.
[“Tener,” which means “to have,” means “received” in the preterit.]
Preterit regular -ar using hablar
hablé
hablaste
habló
hablamos
hablasteis
hablaron
Preterit -er and -ir
using beber
bebí
bebiste
bebió
bebimos
bebisteis
bebieron
Preterit -er and -ir
using recibir
recibí
recibiste
recibió
recibimos
recibisteis
recibieron
We had just entered when the telephone rang.
Acabábamos de entrar cuando el teléfono sonó.
Amadis of Gaul was a knight-errant of the Middle Ages.
Amadis de Guala fue un caballero andante de la Edad Media.
My grandmother learned to surf the Internet.
Mi abuela aprendió a navegar en Internet.
My mother fell ill in October.
Mi madre cayó enferma en octubre.
I fell out of the window. Luckily, I was on the first floor.
Yo me caí por la ventana.
Por suerte, estuve en la planta baja.
I liked the book.
We liked the book.
Me gustó el libro.
Nos gustó el libro.
I liked the books.
We liked the books.
Me gustaron los libros.
Nos gustaron los libros.
We went to an opera at the Palace of Fine Arts.
Fuimos a una ópera en el Palacio de Bellas Artes.
(She) sang wonderfully.
Cantó maravillosamente.
the shoes
I bought them (shoes) at the shopping center.
los zapatos
Yo los compré en el centro comercial.
Yes, I met her (was introduced to her) last night at the home of a friend of mine.
Sí, (yo) la conocí anoche en casa de un amigo mío.
The web page designer
who built my website
did a good job.
El diseñador de páginas web
que construyó mi sitio web
hizo un buen trabajo.
Last night, I met my (female) friend at the movies.
Anoche, di con mi amiga en el cine.
dar con alguien
- to meet someone
- to run into someone
- to come across someone
- to find someone
Isabel Allende wrote “The House of the Spirits.”
Isabel Allende escribió “La casa de los espíritus.”
My parents left for (went away to) the country to visit my grandparents.
Mis padres se fueron al campo para visitar a mis abuelos.
Because I forgot my reading glasses.
Porque yo olvidé mis gafas para leer.
(They) didn’t hurt me.
No me hirieron.
