How do we form the preterite tense?

With regular verbs, remove the -ar, -ir or -er ending, and replace it with the following endings:
For -ar verbs (using comprar 'to buy' as an example)é - compréaste - comprasteó - compróamos - compramos (the same as the present)asteis - comprasteisaron - compraron
For -er and -ir verbs (using comer 'to eat' as an example)í - comíiste - comisteío - comíoimos - comimosisteis - comisteisieron - comieron
Note the position of the accents. Some verbs (like ir, venir and elegir) are irregular and follow slightly different patterns, which we'll discuss another day. Don't worry, there aren't too many and you'll get used to the endings when you use them.

TK
Answered by Tom K. Spanish tutor

1843 Views

See similar Spanish GCSE tutors

Related Spanish GCSE answers

All answers ▸

What is the difference between the perfect/imperfect/preterite tenses?


I am confused about tenses. What are the tenses that I need to know for GCSE?


Ser or estar?


Translate this sentence from English to Spanish: It is important that we protect the environment


We're here to help

contact us iconContact ustelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

MyTutor is part of the IXL family of brands:

© 2025 by IXL Learning