Pretérito Indefinido for -ar verbs
Lesson: Pretérito Indefinido for -ar verbs
The Pretérito Indefinido is a commonly used past tense in Spanish. It describes actions that were completed in the past and have no direct connection to the present. Think of sentences like "I spoke to him yesterday."
In this lesson, we focus on the conjugations of regular -ar verbs, such as hablar (to speak).
Conjugations of -ar Verbs in the Pretérito Indefinido
For regular -ar verbs, replace the infinitive ending (-ar) with the following endings. These endings are the same for all regular -ar verbs.
| Person | Ending | Example with hablar |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -é | hablé |
| tú | -aste | hablaste |
| él/ella/usted | -ó | habló |
| nosotros/nosotras | -amos | hablamos |
| vosotros/vosotras | -asteis | hablasteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | -aron | hablaron |
Usage Examples
- Yo hablé con mi amigo ayer.
(I spoke with my friend yesterday.) - Tú hablaste con tu profesora.
(You spoke with your teacher.) - Él habló muy rápido.
(He spoke very quickly.) - Nosotros hablamos sobre el examen.
(We spoke about the exam.) - Vosotros hablasteis con los turistas.
(You all spoke with the tourists.) - Ellos hablaron con sus padres.
(They spoke with their parents.)
Key Tips
-
Pay attention to the difference between the present tense and the Pretérito Indefinido.
- Hablamos can mean "We speak" (present tense) or "We spoke" (past tense). The context will clarify the meaning.
-
Stress: In the Pretérito Indefinido, the stress is always on the ending in the 1st person singular (-é) and the 3rd person singular (-ó).
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