Regular Verbs in the Simple Past Tense in Spanish

Ayer visité un pueblo muy bonito.

Once you feel comfortable with the present tense, the next step is learning how to talk about the past. In Spanish, one of the most important past tenses is the preterite tense (el pretérito indefinido).

This tense is used to describe completed actions in the past, things that happened once, at a specific moment, or within a clear timeframe.

Regular Verb Endings

Just like in the present tense, Spanish verbs are grouped into three categories:

• -ar verbs (e.g. hablar → to speak)

• -er verbs (e.g. comer → to eat)

• -ir verbs (e.g. vivir → to live)

  
  

Each group has its own set of endings in the preterite tense.

 -AR Verbs (hablar – to speak)

Subject - Person	ending	Verb conjugated  - hablar (to speak)
yo	-é	Hablé  (I spoke)
tú	-aste	hablaste (you spoke)
Él / ella / usted	-ó	habla (he/she/you spoke)
nosotros	-amos	hablamos (we spoke)
vosotros	-aisteis	habláis (you all spoke)
Ellos / ellas / ustedes	-aron	hablan (they/you all spoke)

-ER Verbs (comer – to eat)

Subject - Person	ending	Verb conjugated  - comer (to eat)
yo	-í	comí (I eat)
tú	-iste	comiste (you eat)
Él / ella / usted	-ió	comió (he/she/you eat)
nosotros	-imos	comimos (we eat))
vosotros	-isteis	comisteis (you all eat)
Ellos / ellas / ustedes	-ieron	comieron (they/you all eat)

-IR Verbs (vivir – to live)

Subject - Person	ending	Verb conjugated  - vivir (to live)
yo	-í	viví (I live)
tú	-iste	viviste (you live)
Él / ella / usted	-ió	vivió (he/she/you live)
nosotros	-imos	vivimos (we live)
vosotros	-isteis	vivisteis (you all live)
Ellos / ellas / ustedes	-ieron	vivieron (they/you all live)

Por ejemplo:

• Ayer hablé con mi amiga. (Yesterday I spoke with my friend.)

• Nosotros comimos en un restaurante nuevo. (We ate at a new restaurant.)

• Ellos vivieron en Argentina durante dos años. (They lived in Argentina for two years.)

A very important note

• The preterite refers to actions with a clear beginning and end.

• Verbs ending ir -er & in -ir have the same pattern.

• Be careful: some verbs (especially irregular ones) don’t follow these patterns, but starting with regular verbs makes it easier.

• Context words like ayer (yesterday), la semana pasada (last week), and hace dos años (two years ago) often signal the preterite.

  
  

Let’s remember

• Use the preterite tense for completed past actions.

• Regular verbs follow clear patterns:

  • -ar → é, aste, ó, amos, asteis, aron

  • -er/-ir → í, iste, ió, imos, isteis, ieron

    
    

Master these & get ready to  be able to tell simple past stories in Spanish with ease.

Let’s practice

Exercise 1: Fill in the Blanks

Complete the sentences with the correct form of the verb in brackets in the simple past tense.

1. Yo __________ (hablar) con mi madre ayer.

2. Nosotros __________ (visitar) el museo el sábado.

3. ¿Tú __________ (estudiar) para el examen?

4. Ella __________ (cantar) en la fiesta.

5. Vosotros __________ (trabajar) todo el día.

   
   
   
   

Exercise 2: Translate into Spanish

Translate the following sentences into Spanish using the preterite tense of regular verbs:

1. I walked in the park yesterday.

2. We danced at the party last night.

3. Did you (informal) learn Spanish last year?

4. They cooked a delicious dinner.

5. He played football with his friends.

   
   
   
   

Exercise 3: Correct the Mistakes

Each sentence contains an error. Rewrite them correctly.

1. Yo hablaste con mi amiga.

2. Nosotros trabajaron en la oficina.

3. Tú viví en Madrid.

4. Ellos comí en casa.

5. Vosotros aprendió inglés.

   
   

“Nunca es tarde para aprender.”

It’s never too late to learn.