Spanish grammar: pretérito indefinido de verbos regulares

What this grammar point covers

The 'pretérito indefinido' is a Spanish past tense used to describe completed actions in the past. Here, you will learn how to use it with regular verbs.

When to use it

Use the 'pretérito indefinido' to talk about actions that happened and finished at a specific time in the past. For example, things you did yesterday, last week, or in a particular year.

Key forms

• For -ar verbs: hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron
• For -er verbs: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron
• For -ir verbs: viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron

Examples

Tips

• Remember the different endings for -ar, -er, and -ir verbs.
• Do not use this tense for actions that are still continuing or repeated habits.
• Pay attention to accent marks (é, í, ó) in the endings.

Exceptions and edge cases

• Some verbs are irregular in the 'pretérito indefinido' and do not follow these regular endings. For example: 'tener' → 'tuve', 'ir' → 'fui'.