6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
ANTE TODO
 In order to talk about events in the past, Spanish uses two
simple tenses: the preterite (countable actions/states) and
the imperfect (uncountable repeated/habitual actions and
on-going actions in progress, as well as description).
 The preterite tense is used to express actions or states
completed in the past that are COUNTABLE, including
once implied.
– What happened or occurred a countable number of
times (or did not happen or occur)
– What someone did or did do a countable number of
times (or did not do)
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
Words commonly used with the preterite (Those
without * don’t necessarily mean preterite, unless one time is implied.)
anoche last night
anteayer the day before yesterday
ayer yesterday
*de
suddenly
repente
desde… from…
pasado/a (adj.) last; past
el año pasado last year
la semana pasada last week
*una vez once; one time
*dos veces twice; two times
*ya already
hasta… until…
Ayer llegué a Santiago de Cuba.
Oí un ruido dos veces.
Yesterday, I arrived in Santiago de Cuba.
I heard a noise two times.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
 Remember that the stem of a verb tells the meaning.
hablar = speak
 Remember that the –ar, -er, -ir ending tells the infinitive,
which transates “to + verb.” It is unconjugated without a
subject or tense.
• hablar = to speak
 Remember that the ending of a verb tells the subject, the
tense, and the mood.
– Hablo I speak ( yo, present, indicative)
– Hablaste You spoke ( tu, preterite, indicative)
– Hable Ud. Speak. (Ud. imperative)
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
Preterite of regular –ar, –er, and –ir verbs
-ar verbs
comprar
-er verbs
vender
-ir verbs
escribir
compré
compraste
compró
vendí
vendiste
vendió
escribí
escribiste
escribió
compramos
comprasteis
compraron
vendimos
vendisteis
vendieron
escribimos
escribisteis
escribieron
SINGULAR FORMS
yo
tú
Ud. / él / ella
PLURAL FORMS
nosotros/as
vosotros/as
Uds. / ellos / ellas
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
¡ATENCIÓN!
 The yo and (Ud. / él / ella) forms of all three
conjugations have written accents on the last
syllable to show that it is stressed.
 As the preceding chart shows, the endings for
regular –er and –ir verbs are identical in the
preterite.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
 Note that the nosotros/as forms of regular –ar and –ir
verbs in the preterite are identical to the present tense
forms. Context will help you determine which tense is
being used.
En invierno compramos la ropa en la tienda de la universidad.
In the winter, we buy clothing at the university store.
Anoche compramos unos zapatos de tenis y unas sandalias.
Last night we bought a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of sandals.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
 The –ar and –er verbs that have a stem change in the
present tense are regular in the preterite. They do not
have a stem change in the preterite.
cerrar (e:ie)
PRESENT
PRETERITE
La tienda cierra a las seis.
La tienda cerró a las seis.
volver (o:ue) Carlitos vuelve tarde.
Carlitos volvió tarde.
jugar (u:ue)
Él jugó al fútbol.
Él juega al fútbol.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
 Ver is regular in the preterite, but none of its forms has
an accent.
ver
 vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
 Verbs that end in –car, –gar, and –zar have a spelling
change in the first person singular (yo form) only in the
preterite.
buscar
llegar
empezar



busc- 
lleg
empez- 
qu- 
gu- 
c- 
yo busqué
yo llegué
yo empecé
 Except for the yo form, all other forms of –car, –gar,
and –zar verbs are regular in the preterite.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
 Three other verbs — creer, leer, and oír — have spelling
changes in the preterite.
 The i of the verb endings of creer, leer, and oír carries an
accent in the yo, tú, nosotros/as, and vosotros/as forms, and
changes to y in the Ud. / él / ella and Uds. / ellos / ellas forms.
(This applies to –er and –ir verbs with stems that end in a
vowel.)
creer  cre-  creí, creíste, creyó, creímos, creísteis, creyeron
leer  le-  leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leísteis, leyeron
oír  o-  oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oísteis, oyeron
* Note: All preterite forms of these three verbs carry a written accent
except for the (Uds./ellos/ellas) form.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
¡INTÉNTALO! Provide the appropriate preterite forms of the verbs.
celebrar
1. Carlota _____.
2. Yo _____.
3. Los hombres _____.
4. Juan y yo _____.
5. Tú _____.
comer
1. Las niñas _____.
2. Tú _____.
3. Usted _____.
4. Nosotros _____.
5. Yo _____.
salir
1. Tú y yo _____.
2. Ella _____.
3. Paco y Anita _____.
4. Nosotros _____.
5. Yo _____.
comenzar
1. Ustedes _____.
2. Vosotros _____.
3. Yo _____.
4. Miguel _____.
5. Tú _____.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
ver
1. Ella _____.
2. Yo _____.
3. Las mujeres _____.
4. Mi amigo y yo _____.
5. Tú _____.
buscar
1. Los estudiantes _____.
2. Tú _____.
3. Usted _____.
4. Nosotros _____.
5. Yo _____.
oír
1. Tú y yo _____.
2. La madre _____.
3. Carlos y Teresa _____.
4. Nosotros _____.
5. Yo _____.
jugar
1. Ustedes _____.
2. Vosotros _____.
3. Yo _____.
4. Francisco _____.
5. Tú _____.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
 Acabar de + [infinitive] is used to say that something
has just occurred. (very recent past)
 Note that acabar is in the present tense in this
construction. (acabo, acabas, acaba, acabamos,
acabáis, acaban + de + infinitive.)
Acabo de comprar una falda.
I just bought a skirt.
Acabas de ir de compras.
You just went shopping.
6.3 Preterite tense of regular verbs
¡INTÉNTALO! Provide the appropriate forms of the very recent past
(something just done) using the present tense of acabar + de + infinitive
for these verbs.
celebrar
1. Elena _____.
2. Yo _____.
3. Los chicos _____.
4. Emilio y yo _____.
5. Tú _____.
comer
1. Los niños _____.
2. Tú _____.
3. Usted _____.
4. Vosotros _____.
5. Yo _____.
salir
1. Tú y yo _____.
2. Ella _____.
3. Pablo y Elena _____.
4. Nosotros _____.
5. Yo _____.
comenzar
1. Ustedes _____.
2. Nosotros _____.
3. Yo _____.
4. Marcos _____.
5. Tú _____.