In the previous lesson we learned the changes that verbs experiment in the conjugation of the present tense indicative.
In this lesson we are going to focus on the preterite tense.
[If you haven’t read the first lesson about verb conjugation, click here.]
The goal of the information we are about to see is to make it easier for you to memorize the different forms. The more details you can consciously think about when you start, the easier it will be for you to recall each form. Later, you will start to remember them without thinking about any of these data.
We are going to see how this happens in each tense.
Preterite Tense conjugation of Spanish verbs ending in -ar
This is the conjugation of preguntar [to ask a question] for the preterite tense:
| PRETERITE TENSE - indicative | |
|---|---|
| yo | pregunt |
| tú | preguntaste |
| él, ella / usted | preguntó |
| nosotros, nosotras | preguntamos |
| vosotros, vosotras | preguntasteis |
| ellos, ellas / ustedes | preguntaron |
You can see that the only part that changes is the ending (in blue)
Notice also that the endings in most forms contain the thematic vowel (the original vowel in the infinitive’s ending): -a.
However the form for yo changes to -e and the form for él, ella / usted changes to -o.
It is important to notice also that there are no changes in the stress position. The stressed syllable (underlined in the chart) coincides with the stressed syllable in the infinitive.
Only the forms for yo and él, ella / usted have a graphic accent because, according to the accentuation rules, if we stress the last syllable of a word, and that word ends in a vowel (-a, -e, -i, -o, -u), -n or -s, we need to write an accent on the vowel in that last syllable.
Preterite Tense conjugation of Spanish verbs ending in -er
Now let's study the conjugation of a verb ending in -er, such as aprender [to learn]:
| PRETERITE TENSE - indicative | |
|---|---|
| yo | aprend |
| tú | aprendiste |
| él, ella / usted | aprendió |
| nosotros, nosotras | aprendimos |
| vosotros, vosotras | aprendisteis |
| ellos, ellas / ustedes | aprendieron |
Here, almost all forms loose the thematic vowel: -e.
Only the ellos, ellas / ustedes form contains the thematic vowel in the diphthong -ie.
All the other forms substitute the -e for an -i.
The él, ella / usted form ends in a different diphthong -ió.
The same as in the -ar pattern, there are no changes in the stress position here. The stressed syllable coincides with the stressed syllable in the infinitive.
And again, only the forms for yo and él, ella / usted have a graphic accent because, according to the accentuation rules, if we stress the last syllable of a word, and that word ends in a vowel (-a, -e, -i, -o, -u), -n or -s, we need to write an accent on the vowel in that last syllable.
Preterite Tense conjugation of Spanish verbs ending in -ir
Now let's study the conjugation of a verb ending in -ir, such as repartir [to distribute]:
| PRETERITE TENSE - indicative | |
|---|---|
| yo | repart |
| tú | repartiste |
| él, ella / usted | repartió |
| nosotros, nosotras | repartimos |
| vosotros, vosotras | repartisteis |
| ellos, ellas / ustedes | repartieron |
The conjugation pattern is the same one as for verbs ending in -er.
Since this time the infinitive ends in -ir, we can say that all forms keep the thematic vowel: -i.
Again, the él, ella / usted form ends in the diphthong -ió.
And the ellos, ellas / ustedes form contains the diphthong -ie.
The same as in the -er pattern (and the -ar pattern, for that matter) there are no changes in stress position here. The stressed syllable coincides with the stressed syllable in the infinitive.
And again, only the forms for yo and él, ella / usted have a graphic accent because, according to the accentuation rules, if we stress the last syllable of a word, and that word ends in a vowel (-a, -e, -i, -o, -u), -n or -s, we need to write an accent on the vowel in that last syllable.
You can now compare the three patterns:
| preguntar | aprender | repartir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | pregunt | aprendí | repartí |
| tú | preguntaste | aprendiste | repartiste |
| él, ella / usted | preguntó | aprendió | repartió |
| nosotros, nosotras | preguntamos | aprendimos | repartimos |
| vosotros, vosotras | preguntasteis | aprendisteis | repartisteis |
| ellos, ellas / ustedes | preguntaron | aprendieron | repartieron |
You may have noticed already, but the forms for nosotros, nosotras in the -ar and the -ir patterns are the same as in the present tense indicative. This doesn't happen in the -er pattern because of the change in the thematic vowel that we have mentioned.
[You can review the lesson about the present tense conjugation patterns through this link.]
Start Studying
Remember that the goal of these remarks is to make it easier for you to memorize the different forms. The more details you can consciously think about when you start, the easier it will be for you to recall each form. Later, you will start to remember them without thinking about any of these data.
Now you can start studying each pattern by observing the preterite tense conjugation of different regular verbs ending in -ar, -er and -ir.
Visit our Verb Conjugation Index to look for them.
Remember that, in the Verb Conjugation Index, verbs marked with a * are irregular.
