Preterite (el pretérito)
WHAT: The preterite is used for past actions that are seen as completed.
i.e. I walked the dog this morning. i.e. We danced at the disco last night
HOW: To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the
ending (-ar) and add one of the following:
Yo=I
tú=You
él/ella=He/She
nosotros/as=We
vosotros/as=You
ellos/as=They
é
aste
ó
amos
asteis
aron
To conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite, simply drop the
ending (-er or -ir) and add one of the following:
yo
tú
él/ella
nosotros/as
vosotros/as
ellos/as
í
iste
ió
imos
isteis
ieron
EXAMPLES:Here are all three regular preterite verb forms together. Try
and finish the English:
Hablar=TO SPEAK
Comer=TO EAT
Vivir=TO LIVE
Hablé=I SPOKE
Hablaste=YOU SPOKE
Habló=HE/SHE SPOKE
Hablamos=WE SPOKE
Hablasteis=YOU
SPOKE
Hablaron=THEY
SPOKE
Comí=
Comiste=
Comió=
Comimos=
Viví=
Viviste=
Vivió=
Vivimos=
Comisteis=
Vivisteis=
Comieron=
Vivieron=
****BEWARE!!! There are some irregulars which do not follow the usual patterns. You
will simply need to learn these by heart!! See the grammar links on the blog especially
LOL and Dr.Lemon!
Now try these by following the 1st example!
1. I opened the book ____ABRIR—ABR+í = ABRí EL LIBRO
2. My mother bought (comprar) a house ________________________________
3. They left (salir) at 8 _______________________________________________
4. He returned (volver) _______________________________________________
5. The boy shut (cerrar) the door ________________________________________
6. My father travelled (viajar) by car _____________________________________
7. The train arrived (llegar) at midday ____________________________________
8. I drank (beber) sangria___________________________________________
9. He sunbathed (tomar el sol) _________________________________________
10. We bought (comprar) souvenirs _____________________________________
With a neighbour try and produce 10 of your own sentences IN THE PAST from these
‘holiday verbs’. You can use these to create your storyboard!(add more if you can!!)
VIAJAR
LLEGAR
VISITAR
BEBER
COMER
TOMAR EL SOL
SACAR FOTOS
BAILAR
QUEDAR
ALQUILAR
i.e. Visité España or Bailamos mis amigos y yo en una sala de fiestas or Bebí mucha limonada
**Now produce your own story board using the verbs above and remember to add:
Connectives
Opinions
Time phrases
Adjectives
Extra details
Adverbs etc…
i.e.
Visité el norte de España con mis amigos
I visited the North of Spain with my
mejores y me gustó mucho porque el primer día best friends and I really liked it because
mis amigos y yo bailamos en una sala de
on the 1st day my friends and I danced
fiestas en Barcelona.
in a night club in Barcelona.
Remember to think small and then expand or think triangles!!!!!! (from your yr7+8
lessons!!)