ANTE TODO

1. ANTE TODO • In order to talk about events in the past, Spanish uses two simple tenses: the preterite (countable actions/states) and the imperfect (uncountable repeated/habitual actions and on-going actions in progress, as well as description). • The preterite tense is used to express actions or states completed in the past that are COUNTABLE, including once implied. • What happened or occurred a countable number of times (or did not happen or occur) • What someone did or did do a countable number of times (or did not do)

2. Words commonly used with the preterite (Those without * don’t necessarily mean preterite, unless one time is implied.) Ayer llegué a Santiago de Cuba. Oí un ruido dos veces. Yesterday, I arrived in Santiago de Cuba. I heard a noise two times.

3. Remember that the stem of a verb tells the meaning. hablar = speak • Remember that the –ar, -er, -ir ending tells the infinitive, which transates “to + verb.” It is unconjugated without a subject or tense. • hablar= to speak • Remember that the ending of a verb tells the subject, the tense, and the mood. • Hablo I speak ( yo, present, indicative) • Hablaste You spoke ( tu, preterite, indicative) • HableUd. Speak. (Ud. imperative)

4. -ar verbs-er verbs-ir verbs comprar vender escribir SINGULAR FORMS yo comprévendíescribí tú comprastevendisteescribiste Ud. / él / ella compróvendióescribió PLURAL FORMS nosotros/as compramosvendimosescribimos vosotros/as comprasteisvendisteis escribisteis Uds. / ellos / ellas compraronvendieronescribieron Preterite of regular –ar, –er, and –irverbs

5. ¡ATENCIÓN! • The yo and (Ud. / él / ella) forms of all three conjugations have written accents on the last syllable to show that it is stressed. • As the preceding chart shows, the endings for regular –er and –ir verbs are identical in the preterite.

6. Note that the nosotros/as forms of regular –ar and –ir verbs in the preterite are identical to the present tense forms. Context will help you determine which tense is being used. En invierno compramos la ropa en la tienda de la universidad. In the winter, we buy clothing at the university store. Anoche compramos unos zapatos de tenis y unas sandalias. Last night we bought a pair of tennis shoes and a pair of sandals.

7. The –arand –erverbs that have a stem change in the present tense are regular in the preterite. They donot have a stem change in the preterite. PRESENTPRETERITE cerrar (e:ie) La tienda cierra a las seis. La tienda cerró a las seis. volver (o:ue) Carlitos vuelve tarde. Carlitos volvió tarde. jugar (u:ue) Él juega al fútbol. Él jugó al fútbol.

8. Veris regular in the preterite, but none of its forms has an accent. ver vi, viste, vio, vimos, visteis, vieron

9. Verbs that end in –car, –gar, and –zarhave a spelling change in the first person singular (yo form) only in the preterite. buscar busc- qu- yo busqué llegar lleg- gu- yo llegué empezar empez- c- yo empecé • Except for the yo form, all other forms of –car, –gar, and –zar verbs are regular in the preterite.

10. Three other verbs — creer, leer, and oír — have spelling changes in the preterite. • The i of the verb endings of creer, leer, and oír carries an accent in the yo, tú, nosotros/as, and vosotros/as forms, and changes to yin the Ud. / él / ella and Uds. / ellos / ellas forms. (This applies to –er and –ir verbs with stems that end in a vowel.) creer  cre-  creí, creíste, creyó, creímos, creísteis, creyeron leer  le-  leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leísteis, leyeron oír  o-  oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oísteis, oyeron * Note: All preterite forms of these three verbs carry a written accent except for the (Uds./ellos/ellas) form.

11. ¡INTÉNTALO!Provide the appropriate preterite forms of the verbs. celebrarcomer 1.Carlota _____. 1. Las niñas _____. 2. Yo _____. 2. Tú _____. 3. Los hombres _____. 3. Usted _____. 4. Juan y yo _____. 4. Nosotros _____. 5. Tú _____. 5. Yo _____. salircomenzar 1. Tú y yo _____. 1. Ustedes _____. 2. Ella _____. 2. Vosotros _____. 3. Paco y Anita _____. 3. Yo _____. 4. Nosotros _____. 4. Miguel _____. 5. Yo _____. 5. Tú _____.

12. ver buscar 1.Ella _____. 1. Los estudiantes _____. 2. Yo _____. 2. Tú _____. 3. Las mujeres _____. 3. Usted _____. 4. Mi amigo y yo _____. 4. Nosotros _____. 5. Tú _____. 5. Yo _____. oír jugar 1. Tú y yo _____. 1. Ustedes _____. 2. La madre _____. 2. Vosotros _____. 3. Carlos y Teresa _____. 3. Yo _____. 4. Nosotros _____. 4. Francisco _____. 5. Yo _____. 5. Tú _____.

13. Acabar de + [infinitive] is used to say that something has just occurred. (very recent past) • Note that acabar is in the present tense in this construction. (acabo, acabas, acaba, acabamos, acabáis, acaban + de + infinitive.) • Acabo de comprar una falda. • I just bought a skirt. • Acabas de ir de compras. • You just went shopping.

14. ¡INTÉNTALO!Provide the appropriate forms of the very recent past (something just done) using the present tense of acabar + de + infinitive for these verbs. celebrarcomer 1.Elena _____. 1. Los niños _____. 2. Yo _____. 2. Tú _____. 3. Los chicos _____. 3. Usted _____. 4. Emilio y yo _____. 4. Vosotros _____. 5. Tú _____. 5. Yo _____. salircomenzar 1. Tú y yo _____. 1. Ustedes _____. 2. Ella _____. 2. Nosotros _____. 3. Pablo y Elena _____. 3. Yo _____. 4. Nosotros _____. 4. Marcos _____. 5. Yo _____. 5. Tú _____.