Completed past actions — stories, single events, finished moments
The pretérito indefinido (also called pretérito perfecto simple ) describes finished actions at a specific point in the past. Think: “this happened, done, next.” It moves a story forward — one event after another.
In Spain it is the default past for completed events, especially when you name when something happened: ayer , el lunes , en 2019 .
These time markers strongly favour the pretérito indefinido :
| Category | Signal words / phrases |
|---|---|
| Yesterday / last night | **ayer**, **anoche**, **anteanoche**, **la semana pasada**, **el mes pasado**, **el año pasado** |
| Specific dates | **en 2019**, **el 15 de mayo**, **el lunes**, **el martes por la mañana** |
| One-off moments | **una vez**, **en aquel momento**, **de repente**, **al final**, **de pronto** |
| Sequence in a story | **primero…**, **después…**, **luego…**, **al cabo de un rato…**, **en seguida…** |
| Completed duration | **durante dos horas** (finished block), **todo el día** (that day is over) |
| Frequency (past, counted) | **dos veces**, **varias veces** (when the period is closed) |
1. Single completed events · 2. A chain of events in a narrative · 3. First-time experiences (meeting someone) · 4. Sudden changes
Remove -ar / -er / -ir and add the endings below. -er and -ir verbs share the same pretérito endings.
| Person | -ar (hablar) | -er (comer) | -ir (vivir) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | comí | viví |
| tú | hablaste | comiste | viviste |
| él / ella / usted | habló | comió | vivió |
| nosotros / as | hablamos | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros / as | hablasteis | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaron | comieron | vivieron |
Spelling adjusts in yo (and anywhere the ending starts with e ) to keep pronunciation. The same rules apply as in the present tense.
| Verb type | Rule | Example (yo) |
|---|---|---|
| -car (c → qu) | Keep hard /k/ sound before **e** | buscar → **busqué**; sacar → **saqué**; explicar → **expliqué** |
| -gar (g → gu) | Keep hard /g/ sound before **e** | pagar → **pagué**; llegar → **llegué**; jugar → **jugué** |
| -zar (z → c) | Spelling change before **e** | empezar → **empecé**; organizar → **organicé**; almorzar → **almorcé** |
| -uir (+ y) | Insert **y** before vowel endings (all persons except nosotros/vosotros) | construir → constru**y**ó; huir → hu**y**eron; incluir → inclu**y**ó |
| -er/-ir stem vowel | Some keep written accent | pedir → **pedí**; sentir → **sentí**; preferir → **preferí** |
Seven high-frequency verbs share unique stems in pretérito. Learn each stem group with yo / tú / él first — the rest of the persons follow the regular -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron pattern (with minor spelling tweaks).
| Stem | Infinitive(s) | yo | tú | él / ella / usted |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| **anduv-** | andar | anduve | anduviste | anduvo |
| **tuv-** | tener | tuve | tuviste | tuvo |
| **estuv-** | estar | estuve | estuviste | estuvo |
| **pud-** | poder | pude | pudiste | pudo |
| **sup-** | saber | supe | supiste | supo |
| **quis-** | querer | quise | quisiste | quiso |
| **vin-** | venir | vine | viniste | vino |
| Verb | yo | tú | él / ella | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| hacer | hice | hiciste | hizo | **hic-** stem; **hizo** in 3rd person |
| decir | dije | dijiste | dijo | **dij-** stem throughout |
| traer | traje | trajiste | trajo | **traj-** stem; also **atraer, distraer** |
| poner | puse | pusiste | puso | **pus-** stem; also **disponer, componer** |
| ser / ir | fui | fuiste | fue | Same forms! Context tells them apart |
| dar | di | diste | dio | Only **yo** loses ending: **di** |
| ver | vi | viste | vio | No stem change — just irregular **yo** |
Yesterday I ate paella →
We travelled to Sevilla (last year) →
Did you all see the film? (Spain) →
I had (tener) a busy day →
She went (ir) home →
I started (empezar) at nine →
They could not (poder) come →
I met (conocer) Ana in 2020 →
You all arrived (llegar) late (Spain) →
He did (hacer) the homework →
I paid (pagar) with card →
We were (estar) at the beach →
Suddenly it started (empezar) to rain →
I wanted (querer) to help you →
Did you come (venir) by train? (tú) →