Verbs that are regular in the present tense are not necessarily regular in the preterit. Because the preterit irregulars are presented later, only regular verbs in the preterit are used as examples in this section. To conjugate a regular verb in the preterit tense, remove the infinitive ending and add the preterit endings presented below. For an -
ar verb that is regular in the preterit, use the endings in Table
1 . Because -
er and -
ir verbs are conjugated exactly alike in the preterit tense, both use the endings in Table
3 .
|
TABLE 1
|
Preterit Endings for Regular -
ar Verbs
|
|
Subject
|
Ending
|
Subject
|
Ending
|
|
yo
|
-é
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
-amos
|
|
tú
|
-aste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
-asteis
|
|
él
|
-ó
|
ellos
|
-aron
|
|
ella
|
-ó
|
ellas
|
-aron
|
|
usted
|
-ó
|
ustedes
|
-aron
|
|
In the present tense, the
yo form ends in -
o, but in the preterit tense, the
él, ella, and
usted forms end in -
ó. Be sure to notice the accent mark on the preterit forms because that is the only difference between the
yo form of the present tense and the
él form of the preterit tense. There is also an accent mark on the
yo form of all regular preterit verbs. Pronounce these words with the stress on the last syllable.
Notice that regular -
ar verbs have the same
nosotros/nosotras form in the preterit as they do in the present tense. The only way to know whether it is in the preterit or present tense is by considering the context of the sentence.
Cantar (to sing) is a regular verb in the preterit, so it serves as a good example. Table
2 is a conjugation chart for the verb
cantar in the preterit tense. Because the preterit is a past tense, these forms translate to the English past tense form: “sang.”
|
TABLE 2
|
Preterit Forms of the Regular -
ar Verb
Cantar
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
|
yo
|
canté
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
cantamos
|
|
tú
|
cantaste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
cantasteis
|
|
él
|
cantó
|
ellos
|
cantaron
|
|
ella
|
cantó
|
ellas
|
cantaron
|
|
usted
|
cantó
|
ustedes
|
cantaron
|
|
As you can see in Table
3 , the endings for -
er and -
ir verbs are the same for regular verbs in the preterit tense.
|
TABLE 3
|
Preterit Endings for Regular -
er Verbs and Regular -
ir Verbs
|
|
Subject
|
Ending
|
Subject
|
Ending
|
|
yo
|
-í
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
-imos
|
|
tú
|
-iste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
-isteis
|
|
él
|
-ió
|
ellos
|
-ieron
|
|
ella
|
-ió
|
ellas
|
-ieron
|
|
usted
|
-ió
|
ustedes
|
-ieron
|
|
The
nosotros/nosotras form of an -
ir verb is exactly the same in the present and preterit tenses.
Beber (to drink) is a regular -
er verb in the preterit. The preterit forms in Table
4 translate to the English past tense form: “drank.”
|
TABLE 4
|
Preterit Forms of the Regular -
er Verb
Beber
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
|
yo
|
bebí
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
bebimos
|
|
tú
|
bebiste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
bebisteis
|
|
él
|
bebió
|
ellos
|
bebieron
|
|
ella
|
bebió
|
ellas
|
bebieron
|
|
usted
|
bebió
|
ustedes
|
bebieron
|
|
The verb
vivir (to live) is a good example of a regular -
ir verb in the preterit. Table
5 serves as a sample conjugation for all -
ir verbs in the preterit.
|
TABLE 5
|
Preterit Forms of the Regular -
ir Verb
Vivir
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
|
yo
|
viví
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
vivimos
|
|
tú
|
viviste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
vivisteis
|
|
él
|
vivió
|
ellos
|
vivieron
|
|
ella
|
vivió
|
ellas
|
vivieron
|
|
usted
|
vivió
|
ustedes
|
vivieron
|
|
Antonyms and Synonyms
The Past Tenses: Preterit and Imperfect
