DELE B1 Preterite Mastery: Practice Test & Review
The preterite (hablé, comí, viví) is the tense you use for completed past actions. It appears throughout the DELE B1 exam — in reading passages, listening sections, and cloze exercises, often contrasted with the imperfect.
This page gives you a five-part practice quiz: an evaluation set to see where you stand, three practice sets to drill regular and irregular preterite forms, and a challenge set to confirm mastery. If you get stuck, scroll down for the full explanation. Ready? Start with the evaluation set below.
The Rule
The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is the tense you use for completed past actions. It answers the question “what happened?” — not “what was happening?” or “what used to happen?”
- Ayer hablé con María. — Yesterday I spoke with María. (Completed action)
- Anoche comí paella. — Last night I ate paella. (Completed action)
The preterite contrasts with the imperfect, which describes ongoing, habitual, or background actions in the past. The DELE B1 exam tests this contrast constantly.
Regular Preterite Forms
| Verb type | Ending | Example |
|---|---|---|
| -AR verbs | -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron | hablar → hablé, hablaste, habló… |
| -ER verbs | -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron | comer → comí, comiste, comió… |
| -IR verbs | -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron | vivir → viví, viviste, vivió… |
Note: -ER and -IR verbs share the same preterite endings.
Irregular Preterite Verbs
These verbs have irregular stems in the preterite. They all take the same set of endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron (no accents on first and third person singular).
| Verb | Stem | Yo form | Él form |
|---|---|---|---|
| tener | tuv- | tuve | tuvo |
| estar | estuv- | estuve | estuvo |
| hacer | hic- | hice | hizo |
| decir | dij- | dije | dijo |
| venir | vin- | vine | vino |
| poner | pus- | puse | puso |
| saber | sup- | supe | supo |
| querer | quis- | quise | quiso |
| poder | pud- | pude | pudo |
Ir and ser share the same preterite forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. Context tells you which verb is meant.
Dar has its own irregular preterite: di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron.
When to Use the Preterite
Use the preterite for:
- Completed actions in finished time (ayer, anoche, el lunes, en 2020)
- Actions with a specific beginning or end
- A sequence of completed events
- Actions with a specific count (tres veces, dos cafés)
| Example | Translation |
|---|---|
| Ayer fui al cine. | Yesterday I went to the cinema. |
| Terminé el informe el lunes. | I finished the report on Monday. |
| Vivió en Madrid por dos años. | He lived in Madrid for two years. |
| Comí tres veces. | I ate three times. |
Preterite vs Imperfect
This is the contrast the DELE B1 exam tests most.
| Use preterite | Use imperfect |
|---|---|
| Completed action | Ongoing action |
| Specific time | Habitual action |
| Sequence of events | Background description |
| Action with a count | Description of state |
| Ayer fui | Iba todos los días |
Examples:
- Ayer vi a Juan. (Preterite — completed action)
- Cuando era niño, veía a Juan todos los días. (Imperfect — habitual action)
- Estudiaba cuando sonó el teléfono. (Imperfect — background action interrupted)
- Estudié por dos horas. (Preterite — completed action with duration)
Time markers that trigger preterite:
- ayer, anoche, anteayer
- el lunes, el mes pasado, el año pasado
- en 2020, en junio
- de repente, entonces
Time markers that trigger imperfect:
- siempre, todos los días, cada semana
- mientras, cuando era niño
- normalmente, generalmente
- antes
Common Mistakes
1. Using imperfect for completed actions.
✗ Ayer iba al cine.
✓ Ayer fui al cine.
Completed action in finished time → preterite.
2. Using preterite for habitual actions.
✗ Cuando era niño, fui al parque todos los días.
✓ Cuando era niño, iba al parque todos los días.
Habitual action → imperfect.
3. Forgetting irregular stems.
✗ Hací la tarea.
✓ Hice la tarea.
Hacer has an irregular preterite stem: hic-.
4. Adding accents to irregular preterite forms.
✗ Tuve (no accent needed)
✗ Tu vé (wrong)
✓ Tuve
Irregular preterite verbs (tener, estar, hacer, etc.) take no accents on first and third person singular.
Quick Decision Chart
| Ask yourself | Answer | Tense |
|---|---|---|
| Completed action? | Yes | Preterite |
| Specific finished time? | Yesterday, last week, in 2020 | Preterite |
| Habitual action? | Used to, always, every day | Imperfect |
| Background description? | Was happening, was like | Imperfect |
| Sequence of events? | First this, then that | Preterite |
Two Sentences That Show the Difference
Ayer fui al mercado y compré frutas.
Yesterday I went to the market and bought fruit.
- Two completed actions in sequence. Preterite.
Cuando era niño, iba al mercado con mi madre cada sábado.
When I was a child, I used to go to the market with my mother every Saturday.
- Habitual action in the past. Imperfect.
