Volumen 2 · Capítulo 11

The Preterite: Completed Past

Say what happened: I went, paid, arrived, bought, received.

The preterite is for completed events in the past. Think: a receipt, a timestamp, a finished action.

Regular `-ar` verbs

: I paid
: you formal paid · he/she paid
: I bought
: you formal bought · he/she bought

Regular `-er` and `-ir` verbs

For the forms you need most, -er and -ir share the same endings.

: I ate
: you formal ate · he/she ate
: I received
: you formal received · he/she received

The big irregulars

Learn these as individual tools.

: I went · I was
: you formal went/was · he/she went/was
: I had
: I did · I made
: I said
: I was able to
: I wanted · I tried to

Time markers that trigger preterite

: yesterday
: last night
: on Monday
: last week
: three days ago

Drill: report what you did

That short paragraph is real past-tense Spanish.