Spanish Grammar Bank

PAST TENSE IN SPANISH

In Spanish, the past tense (pretérito) is used to describe actions or a state of events that have occurred before the present moment or before the moment they are being spoken of. 

In contrast to the more straightforward past tense in English, in Spanish, the pretérito is divided into several categories, each with its own set of rules of use and contexts. 

SIMPLE PAST

The Pretérito Perfecto Simple (Simple Past) is used to express actions that were completed at a specific point in the past, which can be isolated actions or can refer to events that lapsed within a certain period of time, which is almost always a determined one, see examples:

A single event: Yo canté una canción. (I sang a song.)

Events that have lapsed within a certain period: Vivieron varios años en Alemania. (They lived in Germany for several years.)

SIMPLE PAST FOR REGULAR VERBS

The conjugation pattern for regular verbs in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense is as follows:

WITH REGULAR -AR VERBS (with andar, to walk)

Yo andé I walked.
andaste You walked.
Él/Ella/Usted andó He/She/You (formal, singular) walked.
Nosotros/as andamos We walked.
Vosotros/as andasteis You (all) walked.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes andaron They/You (formal, plural) walked.

WITH REGULAR -ER VERBS (with comer, to eat)

Yo comí I ate.
comiste You ate.
Él/Ella/Usted comió He/She/You (formal, singular) ate.
Nosotros/as comimos We ate.
Vosotros/as comisteis You (all) ate.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comieron They/You (formal, plural) ate.

WITH REGULAR -IR VERBS (with escribir, to write)

Yo escribí I wrote.
escribiste You wrote.
Él/Ella/Usted escribió He/She/You (formal, singular) wrote.
Nosotros/as escribimos We wrote.
Vosotros/as escribisteis You (all) wrote.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes escribieron They/You (formal, plural) wrote.

EXAMPLES

Yo hablé con la profesora la semana pasada.I spoke with the teacher last week.
Tú te bebiste todo el zumo de piña.You drank all the pineapple juice.
Ellos vivieron en el extranjero de pequeñosThey lived abroad when they were small.
Nosotros comimos pizza ayer.We ate pizza yesterday.
Vosotros estudiasteis arquitectura.You (all) studied architecture.
Juan leyó El Quijote el verano pasado.Juan read El Quijote last summer.

SIMPLE PAST FOR IRREGULAR VERBS

Certain verbs are irregular in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense, meaning they have different conjugation patterns that do not follow the standard ones for the -ar, -er and -ir verbs. 

Some of the most commonly used irregular verbs in Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense are ser (to be), ir (to go), tener (to have) and hacer (to do/make).

Their conjugations must be memorized as they do not follow the regular patterns.

WITH IRREGULAR VERB SER (to be)

Yo fui I was.
fuiste You were.
Él/Ella/Usted fue He/She was / You (formal, singular) were.
Nosotros/as fuimos We were.
Vosotros/as fuisteis You (all) were.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes fueron They/You (formal, plural) were.

WITH IRREGULAR VERB IR (to go)

Yo fui I went.
fuiste You went.
Él/Ella/Usted fue He/She/You (formal, singular) went.
Nosotros/as fuimos We went.
Vosotros/as fuisteis You (all) went.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes fueron They/You (formal, plural) went.

WITH IRREGULAR VERB TENER (to have)

Yo tuve I had.
tuviste You had.
Él/Ella/Usted tuvo He/She/You (formal, singular) had.
Nosotros/as tuvimos We had.
Vosotros/as tuvisteis You (all) had.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes tuvieron They/You (formal, plural) had.

WITH IRREGULAR VERB HACER (to do, make)

Yo hice I made.
hiciste You made.
Él/Ella/Usted hizo He/She/You (formal, singular) made.
Nosotros/as hicimos We made.
Vosotros/as hicisteis You (all) made.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hicieron They/You (formal, plural) made.

EXAMPLES

Yo fui al teatro ayer.I went to the theatre yesterday.
tuvieste tu oportunidad.You had your chance.
Él hizo lo que pudo.He did what he could.
Nosotros fuimos cantantes profesionales.We were professional singers.
Vosotros hicisteis el pastel de cumpleaños.You (all) made the birthday cake.
Ellos se fueron temprano.They left early.

IMPERFECT PAST

The Pretérito Imperfecto (Imperfect Past) is used to describe past actions that were ongoing, habitual or that do not imply a completed action. Meaning, it is a tense that focuses on the internal development of the event without referring to the beginning or end of the action (in contrast to the Pretérito Perfecto Simple), like in the example:

Pretérito Imperfecto: El chico bajaba las escaleras. (The boy was going down the stairs.)

Pretérito Perfecto Simple: El chico bajó las escaleras. (The boy went down the stairs).

The example of the Pretérito Imperfecto above does not imply that the boy had finished his descent but rather that the process was ongoing. 

The Pretérito Imperfecto can also be used to provide background information or details about a past time and age, often being used to “set the scene” in a narrative by describing what was happening or what was true at a given point in the past, like in the example:

Cuando sonó el timbre de la puerta, el chico bajaba las escaleras.

When the door bell rang, the boy was going down the stairs

IMPERFECT PAST FOR REGULAR VERBS

The conjugation pattern for regular verbs in the Pretérito Imperfecto Simple tense is as follows:

WITH -AR VERBS (using cocinar, to cook)

Yo cocinaba I was cooking.
cocinabas You were cooking.
Él/Ella/Usted cocinaba He/She was / You (formal, singular) were cooking.
Nosotros/as cocinábamos We were cooking.
Vosotros/as cocinabais You (all) were cooking.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes cocinaban They/You (formal, plural) were cooking.

WITH -ER VERBS (using correr, to run)

Yo corría I was running.
corrías You were running.
Él/Ella/Usted corría He/She was / You (formal, singular) were running.
Nosotros/as corríamos We were running.
Vosotros/as corríais You (all) were running.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes corrían They/You (formal, plural) were running.

WITH -IR VERBS (using recibir, to receive)

Yo recibía I was receiving.
recibías You were receiving.
Él/Ella/Usted recibía He/She was / You (formal, singular) were receiving.
Nosotros/as recibíamos We were receiving.
Vosotros/as recibíais You (all) were receiving.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes recibían They/You (formal, plural) were receiving.

IMPERFECT PAST FOR IRREGULAR VERBS

There are fewer irregular verbs in the Pretérito Imperfecto compared to the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense.

The particular conjugations in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense must be memorized as they do not follow the regular conjugation patterns of -ar, -er, -ir verbs.

The most commonly used irregular verbs in the Pretérito Imperfecto are ser (to be), ir (to go) and ver (to see).

WITH IRREGULAR VERB SER (to be)

Yo era I was.
eras You were.
Él/Ella/Usted era He/She was You (formal, singular) were.
Nosotros/as éramos We were.
Vosotros/as erais You (all) were.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes eran They/You (formal, plural) were.

WITH IRREGULAR VERB IR (to go)

Yo iba I was going.
ibas  You were going.
Él/Ella/Usted iba He/She was You (formal, singular) were going.
Nosotros/as íbamos We were going.
Vosotros/as ibais You (all) were going.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes iban They/You (formal, plural) were going.

WITH IRREGULAR VERB VER (to see)

Yo veía I used to see.
veías You was seeing.
Él/Ella/Usted veía He/She was You (formal, singular) were seeing.
Nosotros/as veíamos We were seeing.
Vosotros/as veíais You (all) were seeing.
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes veían They/You (formal, plural) were seeing.

EXAMPLES

Yo era buena actriz.I was a good actress.
eras su vecino.You were his neighbor.
Él iba al mismo colegio que yo.He went to the same school as I.
Nosotras íbamos a Francia cada verano.We used to go to France every summer.
Vosotros veíais la tele por las noches.You (all) used to watch TV at night.
Ellas veían a sus primos cada fin de semana.They used to see their cousins every weekend.

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FAQs

How to conjugate the simple past with -ar verbs?

The conjugation pattern for regular verbs in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense for -ar verbs is as follows, using the verb andar, to walk:

Yo andé – I walked.

Tú andaste – You walked.

Él/Ella/Usted andó – He/She/You walked.

Nosotros/as andamos – We walked.

Vosotros/as andasteis – You (all) walked.

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes andaron – They/You walked.

How to conjugate the simple past with -er verbs?

The conjugation pattern for regular verbs in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense for -er verbs is as follows, using the verb comer, to eat:

Yo comí – I ate.

Tú comiste – You ate.

Él/Ella/Usted comió – He/She/You ate.

Nosotros/as comimos – We ate.

Vosotros/as comisteis – You (all) ate.

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes comieron – They/You ate.

How to conjugate the simple past with -ir verbs?

The conjugation pattern for regular verbs in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense for -ir verbs is as follows, using the verb escribir, to walk:

Yo escribí – I wrote.

Tú escribiste – You wrote.

Él/Ella/Usted escribió – He/She/You wrote.

Nosotros/as escribimos – We wrote.

Vosotros/as escribisteis – You (all) wrote.

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes escribieron – They/You wrote.

How to conjugate simple past with irregular verbs?

Certain verbs are irregular in the Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense, meaning they have different conjugation patterns that do not follow the standard ones for the -ar, -er and -ir verbs. 

Some of the most commonly used irregular verbs in Pretérito Perfecto Simple tense are ser (to be), ir (to go), tener (to have) and hacer (to do/make).

Their conjugations must be memorized as they do not follow the regular patterns

Example with irregular verb SER (to be):

Yo fui – I was.

Tú fuiste – You were.

Él/Ella/Usted fue – He/She was / You were.

Nosotros/as fuimos – We were.

Vosotros/as fuisteis – You (all) were.

Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes fueron – They/You were.

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