Past Tense Spanish Preterite Conjugations Verb Endings (Charts)

Past Tense Spanish Preterite Conjugations Verb Endings (Charts) Sign up successful How to Conjugate Verbs in the Spanish Preterite Its important to note that Spanish has two types of past tenses: the preterite and the imperfect.  Here, well start with Spanish preterite conjugations and review the imperfect in a future post. The Spanish preterite tense is a way to express the past, and it breaks down verbs into five different endings. Keep reading to learn how to change a verb into its past tense form. Conjugating -AR  Verbs in the Spanish Preterite Here is an example using the Spanish verb mirar  (to watch). First, shave off the -ar ending. Then If you are referring to Yo  or ‘I,’ add the letter é to end the conjugated verb, forming miré. If you are referring to Tú  or ‘you,’ use the ending aste, to form miraste. If you are referring to él  or ella or ‘he or she,’ use the ending ó  to form miró. If you are referring to nosotros  or ‘we,’ use the ending amos  to form miramos. (This is the same as present tense conjugation!) If you are referring to ellos  or ‘they,’ use the ending aron, to form miraron. SEE ALSO: 46 Spanish Adjectives to Describe All Your Friends Conjugating -ER  Verbs in the Spanish Preterite Now let’s use  comer (to eat), as an example. First, shave off the -er ending. Next If you are referring to Yo  or ‘I, use  the ending í, (instead of é) to form comí. If you are referring to Tú  or ‘you,’ use the ending iste, to form comiste. If you are referring to él  or ella  or ‘he or she,’ use the ending ió, to form comió. If you are referring to nosotros  or ‘we,’ use the ending imos, to form comimos. If you are referring to ellos  or ‘they,’ use the ending ieron, to form comieron. Conjugating  -IR  Verbs in the Spanish Preterite Conjugating  -ir  verbs  shares the same rules as conjugating  -er verbs.  See the following chart as an example. Vivir (to live): Yo viví Tú viviste Él/Ella/Usted vivió Nosotros vivimos Ellas/Ellos/Ustedes vivieron SEE ALSO: 75 Most Helpful Spanish Cognates Ready for some Spanish past tense conjugation practice? Fill out the following chart: 12 Irregular Spanish Preterite Endings There are 12 core verbs in Spanish that have irregular past tense conjugations in the preterite tense. Fortunately their main endings are similar to what we’ve already learned in this post: é, iste, -ó, imos, isteis, ieron/*eron. Here are the 12 verbs, also known as the dirty dozen. Lets conjugate estar as an example: Estar (to be): Yo estuve Tú estuviste Él/Ella/Usted estuvo Nosotros estuvimos Ellas/Ellos/Ustedes estuvieron Now that you know how to conjugate Spanish past tense verbs, youre once step closer to becoming fluent in Spanish! As always, its a great idea to work with a  Spanish tutor  who can help you work through these concepts and provide extra guidance as needed. You can also take online Spanish classes to get even more practice conjugating verbs in everyday conversation. Buena suerte! Post Author: Jason N. Jason N. tutors in English and Spanish in Fairfax, CA.  He majored in Spanish at UC Davis, lived in Mexico for 3 years where he completed a Masters degree in Counseling, and studied Spanish Literature and Psychology at the University of Costa Rica. Learn more about Jason here!   Interested in Private Lessons? Search thousands of teachers for local and live, online lessons. Sign up for convenient, affordable private lessons today! Search for Your Teacher Photo by John Loo