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Learn grammar concepts and practice with interactive drills.
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Select a verb tense to study:
The preterite tense is used to describe completed actions in the past. It answers the question "What happened?" and refers to specific events that have a clear beginning and end.
Examples: "I ate breakfast" (Yo comí el desayuno), "She spoke with him" (Ella habló con él)
To conjugate regular -AR verbs in the preterite, remove the -ar ending and add the following:
yo
-é
tú
-aste
él/ella/usted
-ó
nosotros
-amos
ellos/ellas/ustedes
-aron
Example: hablar (to speak)
hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablaron
To conjugate regular -ER verbs in the preterite, remove the -er ending and add:
yo
-í
tú
-iste
él/ella/usted
-ió
nosotros
-imos
ellos/ellas/ustedes
-ieron
Example: comer (to eat)
comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comieron
Regular -IR verbs use the same endings as -ER verbs in the preterite:
yo
-í
tú
-iste
él/ella/usted
-ió
nosotros
-imos
ellos/ellas/ustedes
-ieron
Example: vivir (to live)
viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivieron