Regular preterite verbs
Verbs that en in AR
Verbs that en in ER
Verbs that en in IR
The preterite is used to express an action completed at a definite time in the past. It is
usually referred to as the past tense in English. In English, regular verbs in the past tense,
such as danced, end in –ed. Others, such as swam, are irregular.
For example: I walked to school yesterday
Preterite tense
Caminar - to walk
caminé
caminamos
caminaste
caminasteis
caminó
caminaron
I walk to school.
present tense
Aprender- to learn
aprendí
aprendimos
aprendiste aprendisteis
aprendió
vivir – to live
viví
vivimos
viviste
vivisteis
vivió
vivieron
aprendieron
The nosotros(as) form of ______ and ______ verbs are the same in the preterite and the
present tenses. Context clues, such as ayer (yesterday), help you to know whether the verb
is in the preterite and the present tenses. The ____ and ____ verbs share the same endings in the
past tense.
Practice – fill in the blanks with the correct form of the verbs in the preterite tense.
1. Tú _____________ para el examen ayer. (estudiar)
2. Mis amigos y yo _____________ a Costa Rica el año pasado. (viajar)
3. Mi mama _______________ en Costa Rica. (vivir)
4. Manuel ________________ hacer una reservación en un hostal. (decidir)
5. Susana y Marta ________________ en el mercado al aire libre anoche. (regatear)
6. Yo ____________ muchos lugares muy bonitos la semana pasada. (conocer)
7. ¿Cuándo ______________ ustedes chapulines (grasshoppers). (comer)
8. ¿Dónde ________________ tú las llaves ayer? (perder)