THE PRETERITE TENSE

Question 1

What do you use the preterite tense for?

Answer 1

To talk about completed actions at specific times in the past.

(When the past action has a definite beginning and definite ending)

Question 2

What time phrases are often used with the preterite tense?

Answer 2

Ayer- yesterday
Anteayer- the day before yesterday
Anoche- last night
El año pasado- last year

Etc

Question 3

What is the preterite tense NOT used for?

Answer 3

.Describing people in the past or to describe or set a scene.
.Describing repeated or continuous actions in the past with no specific beginning or end.

Question 4

What are the preterite endings for AR verbs?

Answer 4

é
aste 
ó
amos 
asteis 
aron

Question 5

What are the preterite endings of ER and IR verbs?

Answer 5

í
iste 
ió
imos 
isteis
ieron

Question 6

Which regular verbs in the present tense have a spelling change in the ‘Yo’ form?

Answer 6

Jugar- Jugué
Llegar- Lluegé
Buscar- Busqué
Pagar- Pagué
Empezar- Empecé
Comenzar- Comencé
Practicar- Practiqué
Tocar- Toqué
Organizar- Organicé

Question 7

Which verbs in the preterite tense have irregular spellings in the third person singular and third person plural forms?

Answer 7

Leer- leyó, leyeron
Caer- cayó, cayeron
Oír- oyó, oyeron
Creer- creyó, creyeron
Construir- construyó, construyeron

Question 8

Which stem-changing IR verbs have irregular spellings in the third person singular and third person plural forms?

Answer 8

Preferir- prefirió, prefirieron
Dormir- durmió, durmieron 
Repetir- repitió, repitieron
Pedir- pidió, pidieron
Morir- murió, murieron
Servir- sirvió, sirvieron

Question 9

What verbs are irregular in the preterite tense?

Answer 9

SER/IR
HACER
TENER
ESTAR
DECIR
PODER
VENIR
DAR
VER
LEER

Question 10

What are the preterite forms for SER/IR?

Answer 10

Fui
Fuiste
Fui
Fuimos
Fuisteis
Fueron

Question 11

What are the preterite forms of HACER?

Answer 11

Hice
Hiciste
Hizo
Hicimos
Hicisteis
Hicieron

Question 12

What are the preterite forms of TENER?

Answer 12

Tuve
Tuviste
Tuvo
Tuvimos
Tuvisteis
Tuvieron

Question 13

What are the preterite forms of ESTAR?

Answer 13

Estuve
Estuviste
Estuvo
Estuvimos
Estuvisteis
Estuvieron

Question 14

What are the preterite forms of DECIR?

Answer 14

Dije
Dijiste
Dijo
Dijimos
Dijisteis
Dijeron

Question 15

What are the preterite forms of PODER?

Answer 15

Pude
Pudiste
Pudo
Pudimos
Pudisteis
Pudieron

Question 16

What are the preterite forms of VENIR?

Answer 16

Vine 
Viniste
Vino
Vinimos
Vinisteis
Vinieron

Question 17

What are the preterite forms of DAR?

Answer 17

Di
Diste
Dio
Dimos
Disteis 
Dieron

Question 18

What are the preterite forms of VER?

Answer 18

Vi
Viste
Vio
Vimos
Visteis
Vieron

Question 19

What are the preterite forms of LEER?

Answer 19

Leí
Leíste
Leyó
Leímos
Leísteis
Leyeron

Question 20

What types of completed actions does the preterite describe?

Answer 20

1. Single completed actions in the past
   E.g Llegué a casa a las diez
2. Actions limited by time
   E.g Marcos empezó a trabajar a las ocho
3. Actions that indicate a state (physical/emotional)
   E.g Mario abrió la puerta
   Me puse contento al verla
4. A precise action (indefinido/ simple past)
   - which interrupts another action taking place at the same time (imperfect tense)