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Preterite: Part I

In the last lesson, you learned that the preterite is used for past actions that are seen as completed. You also learned how to conjugate regular -ar verbs. In this lesson, you will learn how to conjugate -er and -ir verbs, and become more familiar with the uses of the preterite.

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To conjugate regular -ar verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-ar) and add one of the following:

é
aste
ó
amos
asteis
aron

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To conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite, simply drop the ending (-er or -ir) and add one of the following:

í
iste
ió
imos
isteis
ieron

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Here are all three regular preterite verb forms together:

hablar	comer	vivir
hablé	comí	viví
hablaste	comiste	viviste
habló	comió	vivió
hablamos	comimos	vivimos
hablasteis	comisteis	vivisteis
hablaron	comieron	vivieron

Note: the nosotros forms for -ar and -ir verbs are the same in both preterite and present tenses: hablamos, vivimos.

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The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.

Ella caminó por el parque.
She walked through the park.

Ellos llegaron a las ocho.
They arrived at eight o'clock.

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The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of times, or occurred during a specific period of time.

Ayer escribí tres cartas.
Yesterday I wrote three letters.

Vivimos allí por cuatro años.
We lived there for four years.

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The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.

Ella se levantó, se vistió, y salió de la casa.
She got up, dressed, and left the house.

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The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.

Empezó a nevar a las ocho de la mañana.
It began to snow at eight in the morning.

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The above examples all fall within our general rule for using the preterite:

The preterite is used for past actions that are seen as completed.

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Let's add two more flashcards for regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite tense:

Verb Flashcards

41. Preterite: regular -er
    
    -í
    -iste
    -ió
    
    -imos
    -isteis
    
    ieron
    
    comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron
    
    
42. Preterite: regular -ir verbs
    
    -í
    -iste
    -ió
    
    -imos
    -isteis
    
    ieron
    
    viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron

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