CEFR A2
What you will learn
- Build all six persons of regular preterite verbs in the three conjugations.
- Recognise and form frequent irregular preterites without adding regular accents.
- Choose the preterite for a completed event located in a closed past frame.
Before you start
- Have studied “The present tense: three endings to start speaking”.
The idea
The preterite presents an event as a complete whole. A two-minute call and a ten-year stay can both use it if the speaker places each one inside a finished period. Closed markers such as “ayer”, “el sábado”, “en 2024” and “la semana pasada” make this viewpoint especially clear. They locate the event; they do not merely say that it was long ago.
“-er” and “-ir” share one set of endings. Only the “yo” and third-person singular forms carry written accents in regular verbs: “comí”, “comió”. The accents distinguish pronunciation and, in many cases, tense.
The “nosotros” forms of regular “-ar” and “-ir” verbs look exactly like the present: “hablamos”, “vivimos”. A time marker or the surrounding story supplies the tense.
Many common irregulars use a special stem plus “-e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron”: “tuv-”, “estuv-”, “pud-”, “pus-”, “sup-”, “quis-” and “vin-”. These endings never take a written accent.
“Hacer” has “hic-” but changes to “hiz-” before the third-person singular “-o”: “hizo”. Stems ending in “j”, including “dij-” and “traj-”, take “-eron” rather than “-ieron”: “dijeron”, “trajeron”.
Complete regular preterite
| person | hablar | comer | vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | comí | viví |
| tú | hablaste | comiste | viviste |
| él / ella / usted | habló | comió | vivió |
| nosotros / nosotras | hablamos | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | hablasteis | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaron | comieron | vivieron |
Complete high-frequency irregular paradigms
| person | tener | estar | hacer | ir / ser | ver | dar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | tuve | estuve | hice | fui | vi | di |
| tú | tuviste | estuviste | hiciste | fuiste | viste | diste |
| él / ella / usted | tuvo | estuvo | hizo | fue | vio | dio |
| nosotros / nosotras | tuvimos | estuvimos | hicimos | fuimos | vimos | dimos |
| vosotros / vosotras | tuvisteis | estuvisteis | hicisteis | fuisteis | visteis | disteis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | tuvieron | estuvieron | hicieron | fueron | vieron | dieron |
How it sounds
- The preterite presents the two events as a complete sequence.“El martes” is a finished time frame. Both actions advance the story as completed events. “Preparó” uses the regular third-person “-ó”; “salió” uses the “-ir” third-person “-ió”.
Check objective 1Another case
Present the shop’s closing as a single completed event last Saturday: El sábado pasado la tienda ___ a las seis. (cerrar)
Present the shop’s closing as a single completed event last Saturday: El sábado pasado la tienda ___ a las seis. (cerrar)
Answer available without interaction
Answer: cerró — El sábado is closed and “la tienda” is third-person singular, so regular “cerrar” takes “-ó”.
“El sábado” is closed and “la tienda” is third-person singular, so regular “cerrar” takes “-ó”.
Answer: cerró — El sábado is closed and “la tienda” is third-person singular, so regular “cerrar” takes “-ó”.
“El sábado” is closed and “la tienda” is third-person singular, so regular “cerrar” takes “-ó”.
Check objective 2Another case
A proposed answer is “traieron” for this case: “Use the three parcels in the last panel: Ayer ellos traieron tres paquetes. (traer)”. Choose the only valid form.
A proposed answer is “trajieron” for this case: “Use the three parcels in the last panel: Ayer ellos trajieron tres paquetes. (traer)”. Choose the only valid form.
Answer available without interaction
Answer: trajeron — Ayer closes the event. “Traer” uses the j-stem “traj-”; in the third-person plural, a j-stem takes “-eron”: “trajeron”.
“Ayer” closes the event. “Traer” uses the j-stem “traj-”; in the third-person plural, a j-stem takes “-eron”: “trajeron”.
Answer: trajeron — Ayer closes the event. “Traer” uses the j-stem “traj-”; in the third-person plural, a j-stem takes “-eron”: “trajeron”.
“Ayer” closes the event. “Traer” uses the j-stem “traj-”; in the third-person plural, a j-stem takes “-eron”: “trajeron”.
Check objective 3Another case
Present the purchase as a completed event yesterday: Ayer nosotros ___ fruta y pan. (comprar)
Present the purchase as a completed event yesterday: Ayer nosotros ___ fruta y pan. (comprar)
Answer available without interaction
Answer: compramos — Ayer closes the event. The regular preterite of “comprar” for “nosotros” is “compramos”; context distinguishes it from the identical present form.
“Ayer” closes the event. The regular preterite of “comprar” for “nosotros” is “compramos”; context distinguishes it from the identical present form.
Answer: compramos — Ayer closes the event. The regular preterite of “comprar” for “nosotros” is “compramos”; context distinguishes it from the identical present form.
“Ayer” closes the event. The regular preterite of “comprar” for “nosotros” is “compramos”; context distinguishes it from the identical present form.
What your own language pushes you to say
Wrong El año pasado vivía seis meses en Bogotá.
Right El año pasado viví seis meses en Bogotá.
The six-month stay is bounded inside last year. Its length does not make it imperfect.
Challenge: apply every rule
Solve every case and justify each choice: 1) A proposed answer is “cerraba” for this case: “The first panel shows a shop completing its day. El sábado la tienda cerraba a las seis. (cerrar)”. Choose the only valid form. 2) A proposed answer is “cerró” for this case: “Use the three parcels in the last panel: Ayer ellos cerró tres paquetes. (traer)”. Choose the only valid form. 3) A proposed answer is “cerró” for this case: “Use the middle panel: Ayer nosotros cerró fruta y pan. (comprar)”. Choose the only valid form.
Answer available without interaction
- Build all six persons of regular preterite verbs in the three conjugations.
- Recognise and form frequent irregular preterites without adding regular accents.
- Choose the preterite for a completed event located in a closed past frame.
Answer: cerró · trajeron · compramos
“El sábado” is closed and “la tienda” is third-person singular, so regular “cerrar” takes “-ó”. “Ayer” closes the event. “Traer” uses the j-stem “traj-”; in the third-person plural, a j-stem takes “-eron”: “trajeron”. “Ayer” closes the event. The regular preterite of “comprar” for “nosotros” is “compramos”; context distinguishes it from the identical present form.
Curriculum alignment and sources
- A2 learners can give simple descriptions of past activities and personal experiences; the grammatical sequencing is editorial. · CEFR descriptors search
- A2 lists the regular preterite paradigms, frequent irregular roots and completed actions in a precise past frame. · ic-pcic-grammar-a1-a2
Continue along this corridor
Practise this: “Comí” or “comía”Practise this: “He comido” or “comí”: today's pastThe present tense: three endings to start speakingThe imperfect: build the background of a past sceneThe present perfect: a past event connected to now