Spanish

Past Tense: Pretérito

Use the simple past to talk about completed actions in a finished period.

4 min

The idea

For a finished event yesterday, use the simple past.

This tense is often called pretérito indefinido or pretérito perfecto simple. Start with a few useful “I” forms.

Talk about a finished action.

01Ayer trabajé.ah-YEHR trah-bah-HEHYesterday I worked.02Comí en casa.koh-MEE en KAH-sahI ate at home.03Salí a las ocho.sah-LEE ah lahs OH-chohI went out at eight.

Notice the endings and the stress.

Regular -ar verbs use -é for “I”: trabajar → trabajé. Regular -er and -ir verbs use -í: comer → comí; salir → salí. The written accent matters.

Ask about another person.

01¿Trabajaste ayer?Did you work yesterday?02¿Comiste en casa?Did you eat at home?03¿Saliste anoche?Did you go out last night?

Learn a common irregular phrase.

01Fui al mercado.fwee al mehr-KAH-dohI went to the market.02¿Fuiste a la playa?Did you go to the beach?03No fui. Trabajé todo el día.I did not go. I worked all day.

Anchor the action in a finished period.

Yesterday

Ayer compré pan.Yesterday I bought bread.

Last week

La semana pasada visité a un amigo.Last week I visited a friend.

Remember this

A finished time plus one past-tense action is enough to start.

Ayer trabajé, comí en casa y salí a las ocho. Learn a few useful forms before adding more.

Lesson complete

Reviewed 2026-09-07

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