Spanish Grammar · Simple Past

Spanish Preterite Tense (Pretérito Indefinido)

The preterite—also called the pretérito indefinido or pretérito perfecto simple—is the Spanish tense used to present a past action or event as a completed unit. It is the closest everyday counterpart of the English simple past, but Spanish does not automatically use the preterite every time English uses a simple-past verb.

Finished event

Ayer trabajé.

I worked yesterday.

Specific time

Nací en 2005.

I was born in 2005.

Sequence

Llegué, comí y me fui.

I arrived, ate and left.

Sudden change

Se puso a llorar.

He/She started crying.

When Do We Use the Preterite?

1. A completed event

Anoche cenamos juntos.

We had dinner together last night.

2. A finished time period

El año pasado viajé a España.

Last year I travelled to Spain.

3. A sequence of events

Salí, llamé a Ana y volví a casa.

I left, called Ana and went back home.

4. A beginning, ending or change

Empezó a llover.

It started to rain.

Important: “completed” describes how the speaker presents the event. It does not mean every English simple-past verb must automatically become a Spanish preterite. Spanish often chooses the imperfect for background states, habits and ongoing past situations.

Regular Preterite Endings

Learn these endings first. Regular -ER and -IR verbs use the same preterite endings.

Regular Spanish preterite conjugations for hablar, comer and vivir
Person hablar comer vivir
yohablécomíviví
túhablastecomisteviviste
él / ella / ustedhablócomióvivió
nosotros/ashablamoscomimosvivimos
vosotros/ashablasteiscomisteisvivisteis
ellos / ellas / ustedeshablaroncomieronvivieron

Accents matter: hablé / hable / habló / hablo

SpanishMeaningForm
habléI spokepreterite · yo
hablethat I speakpresent subjunctive — Es importante que yo hable.
hablóhe / she spokepreterite · él / ella / usted
habloI speakpresent indicative · yo

One form can belong to two tenses

hablamos = we speak or we spoke.

vivimos = we live or we lived.

This happens with regular -AR and -IR verbs in the nosotros form; context tells you the tense. Regular -ER verbs are different: comemos = we eat, but comimos = we ate.

Common Time Expressions

These words often appear with the preterite because they point to a finished or specific past time. They are useful clues—not automatic rules.

ayer anteayer anoche el otro día la semana pasada el mes pasado el año pasado hace dos años en 2025 una vez de repente finalmente

Learn them as chunks

Everyday Preterite Expressions You Will Actually Hear

The preterite becomes much easier when you learn high-frequency forms as complete expressions instead of isolated conjugations.

Very Short Expressions

SpanishMeaning
¿Qué pasó?What happened?
No pasó nada.Nothing happened.
Me fui.I left / went away.
Me quedé.I stayed.
Volví.I came / went back.
Lo hice.I did it.
No pude.I couldn't / wasn't able to.
No quise.I didn't want to / I refused.
Tuve suerte.I was lucky.
Tuve miedo.I was scared.
Me gustó.I liked it.
¿Te gustó?Did you like it?
Valió la pena.It was worth it.
Fue increíble.It was incredible.

Short, Complete Sentences

SpanishMeaning
No me di cuenta.I didn't realize.
Me di cuenta tarde.I realized too late.
No quise molestarte.I didn't mean / want to bother you.
Tuve que irme.I had to leave.
No pude dormir.I couldn't sleep.
Dije que no.I said no.
Me dijeron que...They told me that...
¿Qué hiciste?What did you do?
Hubo un problema.There was a problem.
Salí corriendo.I ran out / left running.
Se puso a llorar.He/She started crying.
Fue una sorpresa.It was a surprise.
Debí llamarte antes.I should have called you earlier.
No me gustó nada.I didn't like it at all.

A useful gustar pattern

¿Te gustó?

Did you like (it)?

Me gustó.

I liked (it).

Le gustó.

He / She liked (it).

With gustar-type verbs, me / te / le identifies the person experiencing the reaction. Gustó stays singular when the thing liked is singular or understood from context.

Irregular Preterite: Learn the Pattern, Not Six Separate Forms

The most useful irregular preterites are easier when you connect an irregular stem to a shared set of endings. The verbs below follow the same basic ending pattern.

Step 1 · Learn the irregular stem

VerbStemYo form
tenertuv-tuve — I had
estarestuv-estuve — I was
poderpud-pude — I could / managed to
ponerpus-puse — I put
sabersup-supe — I found out

Step 2 · Add the shared endings

-e · -iste · -o · -imos · -isteis · -ieron

These irregular endings normally have no written accents.

Example with tuv-:

tuve · tuviste · tuvo · tuvimos · tuvisteis · tuvieron

The same endings attach to estuv-, pud-, pus- and sup-.

Stems with i

vine — I came

quise — I wanted

hice — I did / made

venir · querer · hacer

J-stems

dije — I said

traje — I brought

conduje — I drove

In the ellos form: dijeron, trajeron, condujeron — no i before -eron.

SER / IR

fui — I was / I went

fue — he/she was / went

The forms are identical; context gives the meaning.

Three irregular-verb pages, three different jobs

Irregular Preterite Verbs
Full preterite stem families, endings and complete irregular patterns.

Top 10 Preterite Irregulars
A short priority list: the most useful irregular preterites first.

Top Spanish Irregular Verbs
Compares important irregular verbs across several tenses, not only the preterite.

Two Preterite Patterns Worth Knowing

1. Spelling changes in the yo form

These changes preserve the original sound. They occur in the yo preterite form.

-car → -qué: buscar → busqué

-gar → -gué: llegar → llegué

-zar → -cé: empezar → empecé

2. Some -IR verbs change in the 3rd person

In these verbs, the stem change appears in él / ella / usted and ellos / ellas / ustedes.

Verbél / ellaellos / ellas
pedirpidiópidieron
dormirdurmiódurmieron
sentirsintiósintieron
morirmuriómurieron

English Simple Past ≠ Always Spanish Preterite

English often uses one simple-past form where Spanish chooses between the preterite and imperfect depending on the speaker's viewpoint. A useful shortcut is: preterite = what happened? while imperfect = what was happening / what was the situation like?

Spanish contrast Natural English What changes?
No lo sabía.
Lo supe ayer.		 I didn't know.
I found out yesterday.		 sabía describes a state of knowledge; supe often marks finding out / coming to know.
No podía dormir.
No pude dormir.		 I couldn't sleep.
I couldn't sleep / failed to sleep.		 podía presents an ongoing ability/state; pude / no pude often focuses on success or failure on a specific occasion.
Quería ayudarte.
Quise ayudarte.		 I wanted to help you.
I wanted / tried to help you.		 The preterite can present the intention as a specific event; the exact English meaning depends on context.
Conocía a Ana.
Conocí a Ana ayer.		 I knew Ana.
I met Ana yesterday.		 With conocer, the preterite often means meeting someone for the first time.

For the full contrast, see Spanish Imperfect Tense and Preterite vs. Present Perfect.

Comí vs. He comido: Spanish and English Are Similar—But Not Identical

Preterite

Comí.

I ate.

A completed past event presented as finished.

Present perfect

He comido.

I have eaten.

A completed event connected to the present or to a current time frame.

Regional usage

Much of Spain

Hoy he comido temprano.

Many Latin American varieties

Hoy comí temprano.

Both are grammatical. Usage varies by region, country and speaker. These are broad tendencies, not rigid rules.

See the full comparison: Present Perfect vs. Preterite.

Beyond the basics

How the Preterite Helps You Form the Imperfect Subjunctive

Learning irregular preterite forms pays off again later. A practical way to build the imperfect subjunctive is to start from the ellos / ustedes preterite form, remove -ron, and add the imperfect-subjunctive endings.

Preterite ellos formRemove -ronImperfect subjunctive
tuvierontuvie-tuviera / tuviese
dijerondije-dijera / dijese
fueronfue-fuera / fuese
hablaronhabla-hablara / hablase

Continue with The 4 Main Spanish Subjunctive Tenses or the broader Spanish Subjunctive Guide.

Tell a Short Story in the Preterite

Ayer salí de casa temprano. Fui al centro y compré un café. Después me encontré con un amigo. Me dijo que tuvo un problema en el trabajo. Quise ayudarlo, pero tuve que volver a casa. Al final llegué tarde, pero valió la pena.

Yesterday I left home early. I went downtown and bought a coffee. Then I ran into a friend. He told me he had a problem at work. I wanted to help him, but I had to go back home. In the end I arrived late, but it was worth it.

Big picture Spanish Past Tenses Preterite, imperfect, present perfect and past perfect together.
This page Spanish Preterite / Indefinido Regular forms, use, daily expressions and the essential pattern system.
Deep dive Irregular Preterite Verbs Full irregular stems, families, endings and meaning notes. Priority list Top 10 Preterite Irregulars The most useful irregular forms to learn first. Past background Spanish Imperfect Habits, descriptions, background states and ongoing past situations. Important contrast Present Perfect vs. Preterite He comido vs. comí, including regional usage.

Practice the Spanish Preterite

Use the dedicated quizzes instead of adding another mini quiz to this guide.

Irregular Preterite Quiz Practice irregular simple-past forms. Preterite vs. Present Perfect Quiz Choose between comí and he comido type forms. Preterite · Perfect · Imperfect Quiz Practice all three major past choices together. Present Perfect vs. Simple Past Fill-in Build the correct form from context.