Preterite Tense in Spanish: How to Conjugate Past Tense Verbs (Regular & Irregular + Quiz)

If you want to talk about completed past actions in Spanish, mastering the preterite tense (el pretérito indefinido) is essential. Unlike the imperfect tense (used for ongoing past actions), the preterite describes finished events with a clear beginning or end.

🔹 Need help conjugating? Try our Preterite Tense Conjugation Tool for instant verb forms!
🔹 Confused about how and when to use preterite? Read our Preterite Guide for clarity.

This guide will teach you:
✅ How to conjugate past tense (preterite) in Spanish – for regular and irregular verbs
✅ Real-life examples with English translations
✅ Key irregular verbs (ser, ir, hacer, tener)
✅ Pro tips to avoid common mistakes

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How to Conjugate the Preterite Tense in Spanish

Spanish preterite verbs fall into two categories:

1. Regular verbs (follow set patterns)
2. Irregular verbs (must be memorized)

1. Regular -AR Verbs (e.g., hablar – to speak)

Pronoun	Ending	Conjugation	English
Yo	-é	hablé	I spoke
Tú	-aste	hablaste	You spoke
Él/Ella	-ó	habló	He/She spoke
Nosotros	-amos	hablamos	We spoke
Vosotros	-asteis	hablasteis	You all spoke (Spain)
Ellos	-aron	hablaron	They spoke

2. Regular -ER/-IR Verbs (e.g., comer – to eat, vivir – to live)

Pronoun	Ending	Comer (to eat)	Vivir (to live)
Yo	-í	comí	viví
Tú	-iste	comiste	viviste
Él/Ella	-ió	comió	vivió
Nosotros	-imos	comimos	vivimos
Vosotros	-isteis	comisteis	vivisteis
Ellos	-ieron	comieron	vivieron

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Irregular Preterite Verbs You MUST Know

These verbs don’t follow the rules—must memorize them!

1. Ser (to be) & Ir (to go) – Same conjugation!

Pronoun	Form	English
Yo	fui	I was / went
Tú	fuiste	You were / went
Él/Ella	fue	He/She was / went
Nosotros	fuimos	We were / went
Ellos	fueron	They were / went

2. Hacer (to do/make)

• Yo hice (I did)
• Tú hiciste (You did)
• Él/Ella hizo (He/She did)
• Nosotros hicimos (We did)
• Ellos hicieron (They did)

3. Other Common Irregulars

Verb	Yo Form	English
Tener (to have)	tuve	I had
Estar (to be)	estuve	I was
Poder (can)	pude	I could
Querer (to want)	quise	I wanted

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Additional Rules & Exceptions for the Preterite Tense

1. Stem-Changing -IR Verbs in the Preterite

Only -IR verbs undergo stem changes in the preterite (not -AR or -ER verbs)—and only in the third-person singular (él/ella/usted) and plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes).

Verb Type	Infinitive	Yo	Tú	Él/Ella	Nosotros	Ellos
E → I	Pedir (to ask)	pedí	pediste	pidió	pedimos	pidieron
O → U	Dormir (to sleep)	dormí	dormiste	durmió	dormimos	durmieron

Examples:

• Ella pidió ayuda. (She asked for help.)
• Ellos durmieron poco. (They slept little.)

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2. “Y” Spelling Change in 3rd Person

Verbs ending in -aer, -eer, -oír, -uir (e.g., caer, leer, oír, construir) add a “y” in the él/ella/ustedes/ellos forms to avoid awkward pronunciation.

Verb	Yo	Él/Ella	Ellos
Leer (to read)	leí	leyó	leyeron
Oír (to hear)	oí	oyó	oyeron
Construir (to build)	construí	construyó	construyeron

Exceptions:

• Traer (to bring) → trajo, trajeron (not “y”)
• Decir (to say) → dijo, dijeron

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3. “J” Group Irregulars

Verbs like decir, traer, conducir replace the “-eron” ending with “-eron” → “-eron” becomes “-eron” but with a “j” stem.

Verb	Yo	Él/Ella	Ellos
Decir (to say)	dije	dijo	dijeron
Traer (to bring)	traje	trajo	trajeron
Conducir (to drive)	conduje	condujo	condujeron

Key Point: No “i” in the ellos ending (e.g., dijeron, not “dijieron”).

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4. “U” Group Irregulars

Verbs like estar, tener, poder, poner, saber share a similar irregular stem with “-e” → “-u” in the él/ella form.

Verb	Yo	Él/Ella
Estar (to be)	estuve	estuvo
Tener (to have)	tuve	tuvo
Poder (to be able)	pude	pudo
Saber (to know)	supe	supo

Example:

• Ella tuvo razón. (She was right.)

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5. Single-Person Irregularities

Some verbs are only irregular in “yo” but follow regular patterns afterward:

Verb	Yo	Rest of Conjugation
Dar (to give)	di	diste, dio, dimos, dieron
Ver (to see)	vi	viste, vio, vimos, vieron

Memory Trick: “Dar” and “ver” are almost regular, except for “yo.”

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Pro Tips to Avoid Common Mistakes

1. Don’t confuse ser and ir: They’re identical in the preterite (fui, fuiste, fue), so rely on context.
   • Fui al cine = I went to the cinema.
   • Fui feliz = I was happy.
2. “Hacer” has a unique él/ella form: Hizo (not “hació”).
3. “Querer” in preterite often implies refusal:
   • No quiso venir = He refused to come.
4. “Saber” = found out (preterite) vs. knew (imperfect):
   • Supe la verdad = I found out the truth.
   • Sabía la verdad = I knew the truth.

Preterite Tense Examples (+ English Translations)

Simple Preterite Examples (Beginner)

1. Ayer caminé al parque.
   (Yesterday, I walked to the park.)
   → Regular -ar verb (caminar).
2. Ella comió una manzana.
   (She ate an apple.)
   → Regular -er verb (comer).
3. Nosotros bebimos café.
   (We drank coffee.)
   → Regular -er verb (beber).
4. ¿Viste la película?
   (Did you see the movie?)
   → Irregular verb (ver → vi/viste/vio).
5. Ellos escribieron cartas.
   (They wrote letters.)
   → Regular -ir verb (escribir).

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Intermediate Preterite Examples

6. Anoche no dormí bien.
   (Last night, I didn’t sleep well.)
   → Stem-changing -ir verb (dormir → dormí/dormiste/durmió).
7. Tú compraste el regalo, ¿verdad?
   (You bought the gift, right?)
   → Regular -ar verb (comprar), common in questions.
8. Mi hermano tuvo un accidente.
   (My brother had an accident.)
   → Irregular verb (tener → tuve/tuviste/tuvo).
9. La fiesta empezó a las ocho.
   (The party started at eight.)
   → Irregular -ar verb (empezar → empecé/empezó).
10. ¿Dónde pusiste las llaves?
    (Where did you put the keys?)
    → Irregular verb (poner → puse/pusiste/puso).

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Advanced Preterite Examples (Irregulars & Nuances)

11. Yo supe la verdad ayer.
    (I found out the truth yesterday.)
    → Irregular (saber → supe/supiste/supo), implies sudden knowledge.
12. Ella no quiso ayudarme.
    (She refused to help me.)
    → Irregular (querer → quise/quisiste/quiso), implies rejection.
13. Nosotros hicimos un viaje inolvidable.
    (We took an unforgettable trip.)
    → Irregular (hacer → hice/hiciste/hizo).
14. Ellos dijeron que llegarían tarde.
    (They said they’d arrive late.)
    → Irregular (decir → dije/dijiste/dijo), often used in reported speech.
15. El año pasado, pudimos escalar el volcán.
    (Last year, we managed to climb the volcano.)
    → Irregular (poder → pude/pudiste/pudo), implies achievement.

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