The preterite tense - regular verbs
Most verbA 'doing' word; a word expressing action. 'Walk', 'talk', 'come', 'go', 'eat' and 'sleep' are all verbs. are regular in the preterite tenseThis is used to describe completed actions in the past.. This means that they follow a pattern.
For regular verbs, the preterite is formed by removing the -ar / -ir / -er endings from the infinitiveThe form of the verb that has not been conjugated and is usually translated with 'to' in English, for example 'to play'. and adding the following preterite endings:
| hablar (to speak) | comer (to eat) | recibir (to receive) | |
| (yo) | hablé | comí | recibí |
| (tú) | hablaste | comiste | recibiste |
| (él/ella/usted) | habló | comió | recibió |
| (nosotros/as) | hablamos | comimos | recibimos |
| (vosotros/as) | hablasteis | comisteis | recibisteis |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | hablaron | comieron | recibieron |
| (yo) | |
| hablar (to speak) | hablé |
| comer (to eat) | comí |
| recibir (to receive) | recibí |
| (tú) | |
| hablar (to speak) | hablaste |
| comer (to eat) | comiste |
| recibir (to receive) | recibiste |
| (él/ella/usted) | |
| hablar (to speak) | habló |
| comer (to eat) | comió |
| recibir (to receive) | recibió |
| (nosotros/as) | |
| hablar (to speak) | hablamos |
| comer (to eat) | comimos |
| recibir (to receive) | recibimos |
| (vosotros/as) | |
| hablar (to speak) | hablasteis |
| comer (to eat) | comisteis |
| recibir (to receive) | recibisteis |
| (ellos/ellas/ustedes) | |
| hablar (to speak) | hablaron |
| comer (to eat) | comieron |
| recibir (to receive) | recibieron |
Question
Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in the preterite.
- Anoche nosotros _______________ (comer) en un restaurante nuevo.
- Los alumnos _______________ (estudiar) para el examen.
- Mi madre _______________ (abrir) la puerta.
- Yo _______________ (asistir) a la fiesta.
- ¿Qué _______________ (aprender - tú) ayer?
- Elena _______________ (celebrar) su cumpleaños.
- Anoche nosotros comimos en un restaurante nuevo (Last night, we ate in a new restaurant).
- Los alumnos estudiaron para el examen (The pupils studied for the exam).
- Mi madre abrió la puerta (My mother opened the door).
- Yo asistí a la fiesta (I attended the party).
- ¿Qué aprendiste ayer? (What did you learn yesterday?)
- Elena celebró su cumpleaños (Elena celebrated her birthday).
