Kilo Lingo
Spanish grammar Part of Chapter 8

CEFR A2-B1

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Test yourself (30 questions)

Spanish Preterite Tense: Endings and the Irregular Stems

By Michael McGettrick and Sergio Linares-HernandesUpdated 12 October 2026

The preterite is the past tense for completed events, with a beginning and an end. One event, one time, finished:

Quick check

Three quick questions on what you have just read. The full practice is further down.

Spot the mistake

0/3

Tap the mistake.

the part that changes (the ending or the irregular stem or vowel)What do the colours mean?
  • María. - Yesterday I spoke to María.
  • . - Yesterday I went to the cinema.

The preterite at a glance

the part that changes (the ending or the irregular stem or vowel)What do the colours mean?

Regular -ar verbs have one set of endings, -er and -ir verbs share another, and the irregular group puts its own endings on a new stem:

Personhablarcomer, vivirtener (irregular)
yo
, ,
,

The other past tense, the imperfect, handles habits and background; preterite vs imperfect shows which to use.

Regular endings

Drop -ar, -er or -ir and add the ending. The -er and -ir verbs share one set:

Person-ar-er, -ir
yo-é-í
-aste-iste
, , -ó-ió
--imos
-asteis-isteis
, -aron-ieron

The accents on the yo and forms are compulsory, because they change the word:

PreteriteEnglishWithout the accent
I spoke, a subjunctive
he spoke, I speak

The form of -ar and -ir verbs is the same as the present. Context decides:

  • . - We speak Spanish every day.
  • María. - Yesterday we spoke to María.

Spelling changes: busqué, llegué, empecé

Verbs in -car, -gar and -zar change one letter in the yo form, to keep the sound before é. The rest of the verb is regular:

InfinitiveyoWhy
c becomes qu: a hard k
g becomes gu: a hard g
g becomes gu
z becomes c before e

Verbs like and write a y in the third person, where an i would sit between two vowels:

  • . - My father read the book.
  • . - They heard the news.

When to use it

The preterite goes with a closed time: a moment, or a stretch that is over.

  • Ayer comí paella: one event

  • Viví en París dos años: a closed stretch

Timeline from past to now, with now marked.

Time markerSpanishEnglish
.Yesterday I ate .
.Last night I arrived late.
París.Last year I lived in Paris.
+ time .Two years ago I worked there.
.Once I saw a bear.
Three calendar pages along a time arrow: on the left a grey page torn off the pad and lying tilted behind, showing a football and a tick (yesterday, done); in the middle the page on the pad, glowing yellow and showing an open book (today); on the right a dashed-outline page still to come, showing a bicycle (tomorrow).
  1. .

Ayer jugué al fútbol: yesterday I played football. Yesterday's page is torn off and done: a finished event, so the preterite.

If the action was a habit or a background, it is the imperfect instead.

The irregular stems: tuve, hice, dije

the part that changes (the ending or the irregular stem or vowel)What do the colours mean?

About a dozen common verbs take a new stem and one shared set of endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. None of them has a written accent:

VerbStemyo
tuv-
estuv-
anduv-
pud-
pus-
sup-
quis-
vin-
hic-
dij-
traj-

Two twists:

  • writes z before o: María . - María made dinner.
  • After j, the plural is -eron, not -ieron: . - They told the truth.

belongs here too (, there was), and so does (, ).

Ser and ir: the same forms

the part that changes (the ending or the irregular stem or vowel)What do the colours mean?

and share one preterite. Context tells you which:

Personser, ir
yo
, ,
,
  • . - I went to the cinema. ()
  • . - He was my teacher. ()

Dar and ver: di, vi

is an -ar verb that takes the -er endings, and is regular apart from the accents. One-syllable forms take no accent:

Persondarver
yo
, ,
,
  • . - My mother gave me a book.

Stem-changing -ir verbs: pidió, durmió

The -ir verbs that change their stem in the present change it in the preterite too, but only in the third person: e becomes i, o becomes u.

Personpedirdormir
yo
, ,
,
  • . - The child slept for ten hours.

The -ar and -er stem-changers do not change at all: , ; , .

Mistakes English speakers make

WrongRightWhy
. .the accent is compulsory
tení, hací, irregular stems
tuvéthe irregular stems have no accent
dijieronafter j, -eron
hicoc becomes z before o
pedió- stem change, third person
buscéc becomes qu before é

What to do next

  1. Learn the regular endings first, then the irregular stems as a list.
  2. Do the word-build and story drills below.
  3. Then the imperfect, the other past tense.

Practise: test yourself

Build the word

0/5

Build the yo form of the preterite from its pieces.

  1. hablar, yo

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  2. comer, yo

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  3. tener, yo

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  4. hacer, yo

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

  5. decir, ellos

    Accents optional

    Your word is empty.

Sort into groups

0/8

Regular, or an irregular stem? Sort each yo form.

Tap a word, then the group it belongs in.

Spot the mistake

0/5

Tap the mistake.

Complete the story

0/6

Choose the preterite form for each gap.

Saturday

El sábado pasado temprano. al mercado con mi hermana y fruta. Luego ella la comida y nosotros en casa. Por la noche mi hermana y yo al cine.

Gap 1 of 6

Fill in the blank

0/6

Put the verb into the preterite to match the subject.

  1. Anoche nosotros paella. (comer) (comer, regular)

  2. El año pasado ella en París. (vivir) (vivir, regular)

  3. Ayer yo a las diez. (llegar) (llegar, -gué)

  4. La semana pasada nosotros a Madrid. (ir) (ir, irregular)

  5. ¿Qué te tu madre? (dar) (dar, no accent)

  6. Los niños muy bien. (dormir) (dormir, o to u)

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Frequently asked questions

What are the preterite endings in Spanish?
Regular -ar verbs take -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron (, , ). Regular -er and -ir verbs share -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron (, , ; , , ). The accents on the yo and forms are compulsory: is 'I spoke', is a subjunctive, and is 'he spoke' while is 'I speak'.
When do you use the preterite vs the imperfect?
The preterite is for completed events in a closed past: , I yesterday. The imperfect is for habits and background: , I used to eat every Sunday. The preterite vs imperfect page has the decision rules.
What are the irregular preterite verbs in Spanish?
The core group takes an irregular stem plus the endings -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron, with no written accents: (), (), (), (), (), (), (), (, ), () and (). () and () take -eron in the plural: , . and share , , ; and go , and , .
Which verbs change their spelling in the preterite?
Verbs in -car, -gar and -zar change the yo form to keep the sound: gives , gives , gives . Verbs like and write a y in the third person: , , . And stem-changing -ir verbs change e to i or o to u in the third person only: , .
Do , , and have accents?
No. One-syllable preterite forms take no written accent: , , , , , . The irregular stems take none either: , , . Only the regular yo and forms (, ) carry one.