A2Spanish · Grammar

Preterite Indefinite

A lesson from the A2 course: the rule, examples and a 20-sentence test. The course is reviewed by people.

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Lesson

The Simple Past Tense (Pretérito Indefinido) – Regular Verbs

Hello there! Today, we're diving into the world of the Spanish past, specifically the Pretérito Indefinido tense. This is a crucial tense we use to describe completed actions that happened at a specific moment in the past. Think of it like the simple past in English (e.g., 'I did', 'she went').

At this level, we'll focus on regular verbs. This means you only need to remember the endings for each verb group (-ar, -er, -ir), and the verb stem stays the same. It's really straightforward!

Subject + Verb Stem + Pretérito Indefinido Ending

Here's how regular verbs are conjugated in the Pretérito Indefinido:

Subject'-AR' Verbs (e.g., hablar)
yohablé
túhablaste
él/ella/ustedhabló
nosotros/ashablamos
vosotros/ashablasteis
ellos/ellas/ustedeshablaron
Subject'-ER' Verbs (e.g., comer)
yocomí
túcomiste
él/ella/ustedcomió
nosotros/ascomimos
vosotros/ascomisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedescomieron
Subject'-IR' Verbs (e.g., vivir)
yoviví
túviviste
él/ella/ustedvivió
nosotros/asvivimos
vosotros/asvivisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedesvivieron
Don't forget the accents! In the yo and él/ella/usted forms, accents are key to distinguishing them from the present tense. For example, hablo (I speak/am speaking – present) vs. hablé (I spoke – past)!

Yo hablé con mi amigo ayer.

I spoke with my friend yesterday.

Ella comió una manzana.

She ate an apple.

Nosotros vivimos allí dos años.

We lived there for two years.

Watch out! Don't confuse the Pretérito Indefinido with the Imperfecto. The Indefinido is for completed, single actions in the past that have a clear beginning and end. The Imperfecto is used for describing habits, background actions, or actions that were ongoing in the past without a specific end. For instance, Ayer fui al cine (Indefinido - 'Yesterday I went to the cinema') vs. Cuando era niño, iba al cine cada semana (Imperfecto - 'When I was a child, I used to go to the cinema every week').

Practise regularly, and you'll see that the Pretérito Indefinido will become your best friend for talking about the past! Good luck! 💪

Test yourself

20 questions. Answer them all, then check — you'll see what you got right and what to fix.

  1. 1

    Complete the sentence

    Ayer ella sus llaves por todas partes.

    Yesterday she looked for her keys everywhere.

  2. 2

    Complete the sentence

    Ayer por la mañana nosotros una hora en el parque.

    Yesterday morning we ran in the park for an hour.

  3. 3

    Complete the sentence

    Ayer ellos muy temprano.

    Yesterday they had breakfast very early.

  4. 4

    Complete the sentence

    Vosotros a todas las preguntas.

    You answered all the questions.

  5. 5

    Complete the sentence

    Yo un vaso de agua.

    I drank a glass of water.

  6. 6

    Complete the sentence

    Nosotros una película de acción.

    We watched an action film.

  7. 7

    Complete the sentence

    Ustedes en el coro de la iglesia el domingo pasado.

    You sang in the church choir last Sunday.

  8. 8

    Complete the sentence

    Tú tu comida con tu amigo.

    You shared your food with your friend.

  9. 9

    Type the missing word

    Ayer tú música clásica toda la tarde.

    Yesterday you listened to classical music all afternoon.

  10. 10

    Type the missing word

    Ayer nosotras las entradas rápido.

    Yesterday we sold the tickets quickly.

  11. 11

    Type the missing word

    Ayer ellos los regalos con alegría.

    Yesterday they opened the presents happily.

  12. 12

    Type the missing word

    Tú a tu madre por la tarde.

    You called your mother in the afternoon.

  13. 13

    Type the missing word

    Ellos el paquete ayer por la mañana.

    They received the parcel yesterday morning.

  14. 14

    Type the missing word

    El año pasado yo viajar a España.

    Last year I decided to travel to Spain.

  15. 15

    Put the sentence together — some words are extra

    Last night she studied until three for her exam.

  16. 16

    Put the sentence together — some words are extra

    I broke a glass by accident.

  17. 17

    Put the sentence together — some words are extra

    I talked to my friend yesterday.

  18. 18

    Put the sentence together — some words are extra

    She travelled to France last month.

  19. 19

    Build the missing word from the letters

    La semana pasada yo una carta a mis padres.

    Last week I wrote a letter to my parents.

  20. 20

    Match each word to its meaning

Printable test

The full test as a PDF with an answer key — print it for yourself or for a class.

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