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)

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

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

EXAMPLES

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)

WITH IRREGULAR VERB IR (to go)

WITH IRREGULAR VERB TENER (to have)

WITH IRREGULAR VERB HACER (to do, make)

EXAMPLES

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:

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)

WITH -ER VERBS (using correr, to run)

WITH -IR VERBS (using recibir, to receive)

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)

WITH IRREGULAR VERB IR (to go)

WITH IRREGULAR VERB VER (to see)

EXAMPLES

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