CoffeeBreakSpanish.com
In this edition:
the preterite
tense of -er
and -ir verbs
Lesson 54
Notes
Dos por uno: two for the price of one
The preterite tense of -er and -ir verbs
Programme Notes
Coffee Break Spanish notes guide you through the content of each lesson. In this lesson we
continue to talk about the preterite tense, this time looking at -er and -ir conjugations.
Preterite tense of -er verbs
You already know that there are three regular conjugations in Spanish: -ar, -er and -ir verbs. Just as
these conjugations differ in the present tense, we have to learn the preterite tense of verbs ending
in -er and -ir, which differ from -ar verbs in the preterite.
Consider carefully the full conjugation of comer, a regular -er verb.
comer (to eat) - PRETERITE
comí
comimos
comiste
comisteis
comió
comieron
You may have noticed that the “we” (1st person plural) form of hablar in the preterite took the same
form as the present, ie. hablamos. The word hablamos can therefore mean “we speak” (present) or
“we spoke” (preterite). However, with -er verbs, the present tense form ends in -emos and the
preterite form ends in -imos. So, comemos means “we eat” and comimos means “we ate”.
Here’s another example, this time using vender, meaning “to sell”.
vender (to sell) - PRETERITE
vendí
vendimos
vendiste
vendisteis
vendió
vendieron
Preterite tense of -ir verbs
...and now the good news! The preterite tense of -ir verbs uses exactly the same endings as the
preterite of -er verbs. Two examples are given below: subir meaning “to go up” and abrir meaning
“to open”.
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 54
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subir (to go up) - PRETERITE
subí
subimos
subiste
subisteis
subió
subieron
abrir (to open) - PRETERITE
abrí
abrimos
abriste
abristeis
abrió
abrieron
Exercise: put your preterites to the test!
Test your knowledge of -er and -ir verbs in this quiz. Answers can be found at the end of the lesson.
1. he drank a beer
2. we understood (use entender)
3. I sold the house
4. they lived in Mexico (use vivir)
5. you (plural, formal) wrote a letter (use escribir una carta)
6. you (plural, informal, Spain) shared a paella (use compartir)
7. I read a book (use leer)
8. you (singular, informal) ran to the market (use correr al mercado)
9. we opened the window (“window” is la ventana)
10. he didn’t suffer much (use sufrir)
Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 54
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Exercise Answers
1. he drank a beer: bebió una cerveza
2. we understood: entendimos
3. I sold the house: vendí la casa
4. they lived in Mexico: vivieron en México
5. you (plural, formal) wrote a letter: (ustedes) escribieron una carta
6. you (plural, informal, Spain) shared a paella: compartisteis una paella
7. I read a book: leí un libro
8. you (singular, informal) ran to the market: corriste al mercado
9. we opened the window: abrimos la ventana
10. he didn’t suffer much: no sufrió mucho
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Coffee Break Spanish: Lesson 54
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