Practice Makes Perfect Spanish Verb Tenses, Second ... - Ktooba.com

In the fi rst two sentences, the implication is that the person performed the action once. In the
third, the implication is that the entire meeting, from beginning to end, was boring. In all of these
sentences, the action is quantifi ed, even if only by implication.
A good test for determining if a sentence is in the preterite is to consider if it is reasonable to
ask “for how long?” or “when?” the action took place. For example, if someone tells you, “John
called me,” you can reasonably ask, “When?” and expect a specifi c answer. But if this person says,
“John used to call me several times a day,” you probably would be wasting your time if you asked
“When?” or “How many times did he call you?”
In these examples, “John called me” takes the preterite, but “John used to call me several
times a day” does not. (Th is latter sentence is in the imperfect tense, which will be discussed in
the next chapter.)
Regular verbs in the preterite
To conjugate regular verbs in the preterite, do the following:
-ar VERBS Drop the -ar infi nitive ending, and add the following verb endings to the stem.
-é -amos
-aste -asteis
-ó -aron
Below is the full conjugation of hablar (“to speak, talk”) in the preterite tense.
hablar to speak, talk
yo hablé nosotros hablamos
tú hablaste vosotros hablasteis
él/ella/usted habló ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron
Note that the nosotros form is identical in the preterite and the present tenses for -ar
verbs.
Yo hablé. I spoke.
Hablamos con Juan anoche. We spoke with John last night.
Tú miraste la película. You watched the movie.
Vosotros comprasteis palomitas. You all bought popcorn.
Ella me llamó tres veces. She called me three times.
Ellos contaron el dinero. Th ey counted the money.
-er AND -ir VERBS Drop the -er or -ir infi nitive ending, and add the following verb endings to the
stem.
-í -imos
-iste -isteis
-ió -ieron
Below is the full conjugation of comer (“to eat”) in the preterite tense.
comer to eat
yo comí nosotros comimos
tú comiste vosotros comisteis
él/ella/usted comió ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron
110 practice makes perfect Spanish Verb Tenses