Pretérito Indefinido for -ir verbs

Lesson: Pretérito Indefinido for -ir 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 lived in Madrid for two years."

In this lesson, we focus on the conjugations of regular -ir verbs, such as vivir (to live).

Conjugations of -ir Verbs in the Pretérito Indefinido

For regular -ir verbs, replace the infinitive ending (-ir) with the following endings. These endings are the same for all regular -ir verbs.

Usage Examples

1. Yo viví en Madrid durante dos años.
   (I lived in Madrid for two years.)
2. Tú viviste en un pueblo pequeño.
   (You lived in a small town.)
3. Ella vivió cerca del mar.
   (She lived near the sea.)
4. Nosotros vivimos en Francia un verano.
   (We lived in France for one summer.)
5. Vosotros vivisteis en esa casa antigua.
   (You all lived in that old house.)
6. Ellos vivieron en Chile por un tiempo.
   (They lived in Chile for a while.)

Key Tips

1. Pay attention to the difference between the present tense and the Pretérito Indefinido.

   • Vivimos can mean "We live" (present tense) or "We lived" (past tense). The context will clarify the meaning.

2. Stress: In the Pretérito Indefinido, the stress is always on the ending in the 1st person singular (-í) and the 3rd person singular (-ió).