--- title: The Past Tense in Spanish:  how to master the pretérito indefinido ⏳🇪🇸 description: "Learn how to use the past tense in Spanish (pretérito indefinido): when to use it, how to conjugate regular and irregular verbs, time expressions, and examples with 'ser'." --- [SoyGuiri Blog](https://blog.soyguiri.com) # [The Past Tense in Spanish:  how to master the pretérito indefinido ⏳🇪🇸](https://blog.soyguiri.com/past-tense-in-spanish-preterite) Written by [Miriam Cabrejas](https://blog.soyguiri.com/author/miriam-cabrejas) | Mar 31, 2025, 8:00:00 AM If you're learning Spanish and want to talk about what you **did yesterday**, where you **went last weekend**, or what **happened last year** — you need the **pretérito indefinido 👍**, one of the most common ⌛ past tenses in Spanish.  ## **📌 What is the Pretérito Indefinido and when do we use it?** The *pretérito indefinido* is the Spanish equivalent of the **past simple** in English. It is used to talk about **completed actions** in the past — things that happened at a specific time and are now finished. We use it when: ✔️ An action happened **once** ✔️ It has a **clear beginning and end** ✔️ It occurred at a **specific moment** ✔️ We’re telling a sequence of events 💬 Think of it as saying: 👉 I went, I saw, I ate, I worked… 🧾 Examples: *Ayer **comí** pizza.* (*Yesterday I ate pizza.*) 🍕   *El año pasado **viví** en Madrid.* (*Last year I lived in Madrid.*) 🏙️   *Se **levantó**, **se duchó** y **salió**.* (*He got up, showered and left.*) 🚿   > ⚠️ If you want to describe habits or what things were like in the past, you'll need the **imperfect tense** instead. > > Check on our blog 🔗👉: [The Imperfect Tense in Spanish](https://blog.soyguiri.com/imperfect-tens-spanish) ## 🧠 How to Form the Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish? The tense is formed by removing the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and adding the **preterite endings**. ### 🔤 Regular verb conjugation | Subject | -AR verbs (like *hablar*): | -ER / -IR verbs (like *comer* and *vivir*) | | --- | --- | --- | | Yo | habl-é | com-í                           /  viv-í | | Tú | habl-aste | com-iste                  / viv-iste | | Él/ella/usted | habl-ó | com-ió                       / viv-ió | | Nosotros/as | habl-amos | com-imos              / viv-imos | | Vosotros/as | habl-asteis | com-isteis            / viv- isteis | | Ellos/ellas/ustedes | habl-aron | com-ieron           / viv- ieron |         ### ⚠️ Irregular verbs conjugation Some verbs change their stem and do not use accents. These are important to practice and memorize. | Infinitive | Stem | Example | | --- | --- | --- | | tener | tuv- | *Tuve un problema ayer.* | | estar | estuv- | *Estuve en casa todo el día.* | | hacer | hic- (hiz- for él/ella) | *Hizo los deberes por la tarde.* | | decir | dij- | *Dije la verdad.* | | poder | pud- | *No pude ir a la fiesta.* | | saber | sup- | *Supe la noticia ayer.* | | venir | vin- | *Vine muy temprano.* | | poner | pus- | *Puse la mesa.* | | querer | quis- | *Quise ayudarte.* |   💡 These verbs are very frequent in real conversations! ### 🔸Irregular verb endings (no accents!): | Subject | Ending | | --- | --- | | yo | -e | | tú | -iste | | él/ella/usted | -o | | nosotros/as | -imos | | vosotros/as | -isteis | | ellos/ellas/ustedes | -ieron\* | > ⚠️Verbs with stems ending in **-j** (like *decir* → *dij-*) drop the “i” in the third person plural: *dijeron* (not **dijieron**). ## **** ## **🗓️ What time markers do we use?** These expressions help us identify when to use the *pretérito indefinido*: ### 📌 Common time expressions: ayer  (yesterday)   anoche (last night)   la semana pasada (last week)   el mes pasado (last month)   el otro día (the other day)   hace + cantidad de tiempo  - 'hace dos días' (two days ago)   en 2015 (in 2015)   una vez (once)   de repente (suddenly)   **Example:** *Hace tres años **viajé** a México.* (*Three years ago I travelled to Mexico.*) ✈️ ## **🧩Common Uses of the Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish** This tense is used for narrating specific and finished events in the past. Here are the most typical situations: ### ✅ 1. Completed actions 🧾 *Estudié medicina en la universidad.* (*I studied medicine at university.*) 🎓 🧾 *Comimos en ese restaurante hace dos días.* (*We ate at that restaurant two days ago.*) 🍽️ ### ✅ 2. One-time events 🧾 *Una vez viajé sola a Argentina.* (*Once I travelled alone to Argentina.*) ✈️ 🧾 *Conocí a mi mejor amigo en una fiesta.* (*I met my best friend at a party.*) 🥳 ### ✅ 3. Sequences of actions 🧾 *Me levanté, me duché y salí de casa.* (*I got up, showered and left the house.*) 🚿🚪 🧾 *Primero llamé a Marta, luego fui al supermercado.* (*First I called Marta, then I went to the supermarket.*) 📞🛒 ### ✅ 4. Specific time frames 🧾 *Viví en Chile durante seis meses.* (*I lived in Chile for six months.*) 🇨🇱 🧾 *Trabajé en esa empresa entre 2018 y 2020.* (*I worked at that company from 2018 to 2020.*) 🏢 ### ✅ 5. Sudden changes or emotional reactions 🧾 *Cuando me lo dijo, me enfadé mucho.* (*When he told me, I got really angry.*) 😡 🧾 *En cuanto escuchó la noticia, empezó a llorar.* (*As soon as she heard the news, she started crying.*) 😢 ## **📘 How to use "ser*"* in the *pretérito indefinido*** The verb ser (to be) is irregular and shares the same form as ir (to go) in the past. Don’t worry — the context will tell you which one it is. 😄 ✅ Conjugation: Yo fui  Tú fuiste  Él/ella/usted  fue  Nosotros/as  fuimos  Vosotros/as fuisteis Ellos/ellas/ustedes fueron    ### 🧾 **Example:** La película *fue* muy emocionante. 📽️ Mi primer día de clase *fue* un desastre. 😫 ¿Cómo *fue* tu fin de semana? 🤗 ## **📝 Summary** ✔️ The *pretérito indefinido* is the go-to tense for **finished actions in the past.** ✔️ Use it with time expressions like *ayer*, *el otro día*, *la semana pasada.* ✔️ Regular verbs follow clear patterns, but many irregular verbs must be memorised. ✔️ Use it for completed actions, one-time events, sequences and emotional reactions. ✔️ The verb *ser* is irregular — but essential for telling past stories!   👇✍️ Now do these exercises to practice ✍️👇 Complete the Sentences – Pretérito Indefinido **Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in pretérito indefinido:** 1\. Ayer nosotros (ir) a un restaurante muy bueno. 🍽️ 2\. Mi abuela (escribir) una carta muy larga. 💌 3\. El año pasado, ellos (vivir) en Madrid. 🏙️ 4\. ¿Tú (llegar) a tiempo al trabajo ayer? ⏰ 5\. Yo no (saber) nada de lo que pasó. 🤷 6\. Marta (estar) en casa todo el fin de semana. 🏡 7\. El lunes (hacer) mucho frío. ❄️ 8\. Nosotros (ver) una película muy interesante. 🎬 9\. ¿ (abrir) tú el regalo que te di? 🎁 10\. Mis padres me (dar) una bicicleta cuando tenía 10 años. 🚲 ✅ Check Answers 🔁 Reset 👁 Show Answers 🔚 Now that you’ve completed the activity, you’ve practised both regular and irregular verbs in the *pretérito indefinido*. Keep paying attention to common patterns and irregular stems — they’re essential for telling stories and sharing past experiences in Spanish! 💬🇪🇸   Write a short sentence using the *pretérito indefinido* and one of the time markers above.👇 Leave your sentence in the comments and keep practising! Would you like to practise what you have learnt orally with us? 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