📸 El Pretérito Perfecto Simple 📸

Master the Preterite - Your Storytelling Snapshot

Your Quest: Welcome to the Pretérito Perfecto Simple, also known as Pretérito Indefinido and in English, the Preterite! This is the tense of ACTION, completed events that happened and finished in the past. While it has many irregular verbs, don't fear! We've organized them into logical groups to make learning easier. Master this tense, and you'll be able to narrate stories like a true Spanish legend!

⚠️ Why This Power Matters

The Pretérito Perfecto Simple is THE narrative tense of Spanish. It's used for completed actions with clear beginnings and endings. "I ate", "She went", "They arrived", these are preterite moments. Combined with the Imperfect Past (for background), this tense lets you tell complete, vivid stories in Spanish!

⚡ SNAPSHOT RULE: Preterite = Completed actions | Think "I did it and it's DONE!"

VERBOS REGULARES

(The Foundation - Learn These First!)

⚠️ IMPORTANT: Watch Out for Nosotros!

For -AR and -IR verbs, the nosotros/as form looks EXACTLY the same as the present tense! Use context to determine which tense is being used:

Cantamos = We sing (present) OR We sang (preterite)
Vivimos = We live (present) OR We lived (preterite)

Pronombre	CANTAR (to sing)	COMER (to eat)	VIVIR (to live)
Yo	canté	comí	viví
Tú	cantaste	comiste	viviste
Él / Ella / Usted	cantó	comió	vivió
Nosotros/as	cantamos	comimos	vivimos
Vosotros/as	cantasteis	comisteis	vivisteis
Ellos / Ellas / Ustedes	cantaron	comieron	vivieron

💡 Pattern Recognition:

Notice that -ER and -IR verbs have IDENTICAL preterite endings! This is just like the imperfect. Also, the yo and él/ella forms have accent marks, don't forget them! "Bailo (I dance)" vs "Bailó (He/She danced)"

IRREGULARES: GRUPO 1

(The Big Family - Same Endings for All!)

This is the largest group of irregular verbs in the preterite. The good news? They ALL use the same set of special endings, no matter their conjugation! Learn these endings once, and you can conjugate dozens of verbs!

🔑 Special Endings for Group 1:

Yo: -e

Tú: -iste

Él/Ella: -o

Nosotros: -imos

Vosotros: -isteis

Ellos: -ieron*

* Becomes -eron for verbs with stems ending in "j"

ANDAR (to walk) Anduv-

TENER (to have) Tuv-

PODER (to be able) Pud-

SABER (to know) Sup-

QUERER (to want) Quis-

CABER (to fit) Cup-

ESTAR (to be) Estuv-

HABER (to have) Hub-

PONER (to put) Pus-

VENIR (to come) Vin-

HACER (to do/make) - Special case!

Stem is hic- for most forms, but changes to hiz- in the 3rd person singular to maintain pronunciation:

Yohice Túhiciste Él/Ella/Ustedhizo (not "hico"!) Nosotros/ashicimos Vosotros/ashicisteis Ellos/Ellas/Ustedeshicieron

Verbs with "J" Stems - Use -ERON (not -ieron)

When the stem ends in "j", the 3rd person plural ("ellos/as = they") ending drops the "i":

TRAER (to bring) Traj- → trajeron

DECIR (to say) Dij- → dijeron

CONDUCIR (to drive) Conduj- → condujeron

💡 ALL verbs ending in -ducir follow this pattern: traducir, deducir, producir, etc.

💡 Super Memory Trick:

Notice that Group 1 endings have NO accent marks! This is what makes them special. Regular preterite has accents on yo and él/ella, but these irregulars don't!

IRREGULARES: GRUPO 2

(The Identical Twins & The Imposter)

SER (to be) & IR (to go) - IDENTICAL!

Amazing but true: SER and IR have EXACTLY the same preterite forms. Context tells you which one it is!

Yofui Túfuiste Él/Ella/Ustedfue Nosotros/asfuimos Vosotros/asfuisteis Ellos/Ellas/Ustedesfueron

Examples:
Yo fui al cine. = I went to the cinema. (IR)
Yo fui estudiante. = I was a student. (SER)

DAR (to give) - The Imposter

DAR is an -AR verb, but it pretends to be -ER/-IR in the preterite! It uses the same endings as comer/vivir (without the accent marks):

Yodi Túdiste Él/Ella/Usteddio Nosotros/asdimos Vosotros/asdisteis Ellos/Ellas/Ustedesdieron

IRREGULARES: GRUPO 3

(Stem-Changing -IR Verbs)

These -IR verbs only have a vowel change in the 3rd person (él/ella and ellos/ellas). The pattern: E→I or O→U.

Change E → I (like PEDIR)

Verbs like pedir, servir, seguir, repetir, medir change E to I in 3rd person:

PEDIR (to ask for)

pedí
pediste
pidió
pedimos
pedisteis
pidieron

SERVIR (to serve)

serví
serviste
sirvió
servimos
servisteis
sirvieron

Change O → U (like DORMIR)

Verbs like dormir and morir change O to U in 3rd person:

DORMIR (to sleep)

dormí
dormiste
durmió
dormimos
dormisteis
durmieron

MENTIR (to lie)

mentí
mentiste
mintió
mentimos
mentisteis
mintieron

IRREGULARES: GRUPO 4

(Spelling Changes for Pronunciation)

These verbs change spelling to maintain correct pronunciation. They're not truly irregular, just following Spanish spelling rules!

Vowel + -ER/-IR → I becomes Y in 3rd person singular (he/she/it) and plural (they)

When a verb stem ends in a vowel, the "i" of -ió and -ieron becomes "y":

CREER (to believe) creyó, creyeron

LEER (to read) leyó, leyeron

OÍR (to hear) oyó, oyeron

CAER (to fall) cayó, cayeron

Verbs ending in -UIR add Y in 3rd person singular (he/she/it) and plural (they)

DISMINUIR (to decrease) disminuyó, disminuyeron

INFLUIR (to influence) influyó, influyeron

CONSTRUIR (to build) construyó, construyeron

-EIR verbs lose E in 3rd person singular (he/she/it) and plural (they)

REÍR (to laugh) rió (not "reió"), rieron (not "reieron")

YO form changes to maintain pronunciation:

-CAR → -QUÉ Pescar → pesqué

-GAR → -GUÉ Cargar → cargué

-ZAR → -CÉ Realizar → realicé

💡 This only affects the YO (I) form. All other forms are regular!

💥 When to Wield This Power

✅ 1. Completed Actions

Ayer comí pizza. = Yesterday I ate pizza.

Llegué a las ocho. = I arrived at eight.

⏱️ 2. Actions with Specific Time Frames

Viví en Madrid tres años. = I lived in Madrid for three years. (and then left)

📖 3. Sequential Events in Stories

Me levanté, desayuné y salí de casa. = I got up, ate breakfast, and left the house.

🎬 4. Main Plot Actions (with Imperfect for Background)

Llovía cuando salí de casa. = It was raining (it rained - imperfect) when I left (preterite) the house.

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