The Regular Preterite Tense
To talk about actions that were completed in the past, use the preterite tense. To
form the preterite tense of a regular verb, drop the ending (AR, ER, or IR) and add
the appropriate preterite tense ending. There are two sets of endings for the
preterite tense, one set for AR verbs and the other for ER/IR verbs.
AR endings ER & IR endings
Note that –ar and –er verbs that have a stem change in the present tense do not
have a stem change in the preterite.
Generalmente me pruebo la ropa antes de comprarla, pero ayer no me probé los
pantalones que compré.
Ver has regular preterite endings, but unlike those of other verbs, they have no
written accent marks.
Anoche, David vio una camisa que le gustó mucho.
Verbs that end in –car, –gar, and –zar have a spelling change in the yo form of the
preterite tense.
buscar c qu yo busqué
pagar g gu yo pagué
almorzar z c yo almorcé
é
amos
aste
asteis
ó
aron
í
imos
iste
isteis
ió
ieron
