In this Spanish lesson we will learn how to talk about things we did in the past using the Past Simple in Spanish: El Pretérito Indefinido.

We will start by looking at how to construct the verb endings for the regular Spanish verbs in El Pretérito Indefinido. Unfortunately there are also irregular verbs which we will also discuss, along with key words connected with El Pretérito Indefinido.

Let’s start with learning how to conjugate regular Spanish verbs with –ar, -er, and –ir endings:

-AR: Hablar: To speak

• (Yo) hablé: I spoke
• (Tú) hablaste: You spoke (friendly)
• (Usted) habló: You spoke (formal)
• (Él/ella) habló: He/She spoke
• (Nosotros/as) hablamos: We spoke
• (Vosotros/as) hablasteis: You spoke (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) hablaron: You spoke (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) hablaron: They spoke

-ER/-IR: Comer: To eat

• (Yo) comí: I ate
• (Tú) comiste: You ate (friendly)
• (Usted) comió: You ate (formal)
• (Él/ella) comió: He/She ate
• (Nosotros/as) comimos: We ate
• (Vosotros/as) comisteis: You ate (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) comieron: You ate (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) comieron: They ate

Useful vocabulary used with the Spanish El Pretérito Indefinido:

• Ayer: Yesterday
• Anteayer: The day before yesterday
• Anoche: Last night
• Anteanoche: The night before yesterday
• El otro día: The other day
• Hace …: …Ago
• Hace dos días: Two days ago
• … pasado: Last…
• El mes pasado: Last month
• La semana pasada: Last week
• En (año/mes/estación): In (year/month/season)
• En enero: In January

Irregular verbs used with the Spanish El Pretérito Indefinido:

Ser/Ir:

• (Yo) fui: I was/went
• (Tú) fuiste: You were/went (friendly)
• (Usted) fue: You were/went (formal)
• (Él/ella) fue: He/She was/went
• (Nosotros/as) fuimos: We were/went
• (Vosotros/as) fuisteis: You were/went (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) fueron: You were/went (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) fueron: They were/went

Dar:

• (Yo) di: I gave
• (Tú) diste: You gave (friendly)
• (Usted) dio: You gave (formal)
• (Él/ella) dio: He/She gave
• (Nosotros/as) dimos: We gave
• (Vosotros/as) disteis: You gave (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) dieron: You gave (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) dieron: They gave

Estar:

• (Yo) Estuve: I was
• (Tú) Estuviste: You were (friendly)
• (Usted) Estuvo: You were (formal)
• (Él/ella) Estuvo: He/She was
• (Nosotros/as) Estuvimos: We were
• (Vosotros/as) Estuvísteis: You were (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) Estuvieron: You were (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) Estuvieron: They were

Tener:

• (Yo) Tuve: I had
• (Tú) Tuviste: You had (friendly)
• (Usted) Tuvo: You had (formal)
• (Él/ella) Tuvo: He/She had
• (Nosotros/as) Tuvimos: We had
• (Vosotros/as) Tuvisteis: You had (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) Tuvieron: You had (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) Tuvieron: They had

Hacer:

• (Yo) hice: I did/made
• (Tú) hiciste: You did/made (friendly)
• (Usted) hizo: You did/made (formal)
• (Él/ella) hizo: He/She did/made
• (Nosotros/as) hicimos: We did/made
• (Vosotros/as) hicisteis: You did/made (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) hicieron: You did/made (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) hicieron: They did/made

Decir:

• (Yo) dije: I said
• (Tú) dijiste: You said (friendly)
• (Usted) dijo: You said (formal)
• (Él/ella) dijo: He/She said
• (Nosotros/as) dijimos: We said
• (Vosotros/as) dijisteis: You said (group/friendly)
• (Ustedes) dijeron: You said (group/formal)
• (Ellos/as) dijeron: They said

That’s all for today about the Past Simple in Spanish: El Pretérito Indefinido.

In this course so far we have now looked at five key Spanish grammar tenses: the Present Tense in Spanish to describe things we usually do, the Future Tense in Spanish that is the equivalent to Going to… in English, the Present Perfect in Spanish to describe things we have done in the past, the Present Continuous in Spanish which we use to say what we are doing at the moment, and now the Past Simple in Spanish to describe what we did in the past.

The key at this stage is to have lots of Spanish verbs up your sleeve and to be completely clear on the basic rules of how to conjugate regular verbs in each grammar tense.

Enjoy your Spanish studies and see you next time!

¡Hasta luego!

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