The past: what came to an end
About yesterday, last year and anything finished, Spanish speaks in the pretérito indefinido: Ayer compré un billete, El año pasado viví en Sevilla. English marks the same territory with the simple past — 'bought', 'lived'. For example: “Ayer hablé con el casero” — Yesterday I spoke with the landlord. A rule from the Spanish course: worked out on examples, not memorized as a wording.
How it works
About yesterday, last year and anything finished, Spanish speaks in the pretérito indefinido: Ayer compré un billete, El año pasado viví en Sevilla. English marks the same territory with the simple past — 'bought', 'lived'.
There are only two sets of endings: one for -ar verbs and one shared by -er and -ir. In the 'I' and 'he' forms the stress jumps to the last syllable and takes a written accent — compré, comió. The accent is not decoration: compre without it is a different form with a different meaning.
The language's most awkward coincidence: ser and ir share a preterite down to the last letter. Fui médico — I was a doctor; Fui al médico — I went to the doctor. Only the preposition after the verb tells them apart.
In Spain this tense has a rival: about today and 'just now' people speak with he + participle — hoy he comido en casa. The border runs along the stretch of time: yesterday is closed — indefinido; today is still open — he comido.
Table
| hablar | comer | ser / ir | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | comí | fui |
| tú | hablaste | comiste | fuiste |
| él / ella / usted | habló | comió | fue |
| nosotros | hablamos | comimos | fuimos |
| ellos / ustedes | hablaron | comieron | fueron |
By example
- Ayer hablé con el caseroYesterday I spoke with the landlord
- El mes pasado alquilamos un pisoLast month we rented a flat
- Fui al médico el viernesI went to the doctor on Friday
How the rule settles in your head
A rule is not memorized from an explanation. It is memorized from an attempt to use it and a mistake — that is why the app delivers it mixed in with words, not as a separate lesson: it resurfaces exactly where you forgot it.
Frequently asked
The past: how does it work in Spanish?
About yesterday, last year and anything finished, Spanish speaks in the pretérito indefinido: Ayer compré un billete, El año pasado viví en Sevilla. English marks the same territory with the simple past — 'bought', 'lived'.
What does it look like in an example sentence Spanish?
“Ayer hablé con el casero” — Yesterday I spoke with the landlord. A rule is easier to test on sentences like this than to memorize as a wording: what surfaces in conversation is the sentence.