Preterit Practice Activities - Tense P The reterit Begular...

The
Preterit
Tense
Begular
Verbs in the Preterit
The preterit (el pret6rito) is one of several past tenses used in span-
ish. As you study how to narrate and communicate in the past, you
will be able to distinguish these past tenses by their endings and the
specific functions they perform in context.
The preterit of regular verbs is formed by dropping the -ar, -er'
and
-ir of the infinitives and adding the following endings:
nadar
(to
swi,m) comer
(to
eat)
vrvir (to liue)
nad6
nadamos
nadaste nadasteis
nad6 nadaron
comr comlmos
comiste
comisteis
comi6
comieron
vivi vivimos
viviste vivisteis
vivi6 vivieron
Note the following:
.
The first- and third-person singular forms of the preterit have a
written accent mark.
.
The nosotros form of -ar and -ir verbs is the same
in the preterit
and the present.
The context
(words surrounding the conjugated verb) will give you
the cues necessary
to identify and use the appropriate tense' In the
examples that follow each of the first two statements expresses an
habitual action in the present with the help of the expressions
todos los dias (nery day) and siempre
(alzuays).
The present tense
is appropriate in these examPles.
IJegamos a las doce
We arri'ue at noon eaeryday'
todos los dias'
Siempre viajamos a
We alutays
trauel to Californ'i'a
California los leranos
'
in the summer

sdt
Complete Sparrish Gr*rnmar
On the other hand, the expressions of time ayer... a la una y m edia (yestrrd,a)
. . . a,t one thirty) and,
el afro pasado (lastyear) change the context of the statements,pointing to actions or events that
took place at specific times in the past.
Ayer llegamos a la una y media.
Yesterday zue cn-riaed at onc thirty.
EI afro pasado viajamos a Venezuela.
Last year ute traaeled to Vennueia.
These expressions of time provide context and help determine when the actions take or took
place.
4-l
iY
ayer, qu6 hicieron? Escribe la
forma
apropiada d"el
pretfuto d,el aerbo entre pardntesis.
1. Los hombres
(abrir) las puertas de la oficina.
9; (perder) tri el dinero?
3. Laatleta
(correr)
en el marat6n.
4.
1Tf
(olvidar)
los documentos en el autobris!
5. Marcelo v vo (recibir) una invitaci6n para tu fiesta.
6. Marta y Melisa (terminar) su trabajo a tiempo.
7. Martz (enviar) lacarta por correo.
8.;
(comprar)
Ud. estos pantalones en una venta especial?
lVhen Is the Proterit
Used in Spanish?
Verb endings in Spanish indicate which noun or pronoun is doing the action. In addition, they
provide details about the time and the circumstancesunder which the action takes place. As you
describe experiences, events, or situations in the past, remember that different past tenses com-
municate different ideas. Thus, you must choose the tense that fits the message
you want to con-
vey. You have already seen some examples of uses of the preterit and expressions of time used
with this tense.