Spanish Grammar Bank
SPANISH SIMPLE PAST TENSE
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. |
| Tú | 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. |
| Tú | 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. |
| Tú | 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 pequeños | They 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. |
| Tú | 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. |
| Tú | 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. |
| Tú | 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. |
| Tú | 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. |
| Tú 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. |
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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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