Spanish Preterite Tense: Regular Verbs & 6 Free Exercises

The Spanish preterite tense—called the pretérito indefinido or pretérito perfecto simple—is used for completed actions in the past. If an action happened and finished within a completed time period, the preterite is usually the tense you need.

Quick examples: Ayer estudié español. (Yesterday I studied Spanish.) El sábado bebimos café. (On Saturday we drank coffee.) Mis amigos vivieron en El Zonte durante un mes. (My friends lived in El Zonte for one month.)

This guide explains the regular -ar, -er and -ir endings, includes the forms commonly used in El Salvador, Latin America and Spain, and finishes with six free exercises.

What Is the Spanish Preterite Tense?

The preterite presents a past action as complete. It answers questions such as What happened?, When did it happen? and How many times did it happen?

In different textbooks, you may see the names pretérito indefinido, pretérito perfecto simple or simply preterite. They refer to the same tense.

When Do You Use the Preterite?

• A completed action: Ayer compré una tabla de surf. — Yesterday I bought a surfboard.
• A sequence of completed events: Llegamos, comimos pupusas y caminamos a la playa. — We arrived, ate pupusas and walked to the beach.
• A specific number of repetitions: Visité San Salvador tres veces. — I visited San Salvador three times.
• A completed duration: Estudiaron español durante dos semanas. — They studied Spanish for two weeks.
• The beginning or end of an action: La clase empezó a las ocho. — The class started at eight.

For habits, descriptions and background information in the past, you normally need the imperfect instead. See our Spanish imperfect conjugation guide and exercises.

Common Preterite Signal Words

Signal words are useful clues, but the meaning of the sentence always matters more than a memorized list.

How to Conjugate Regular Verbs in the Preterite

Start with the infinitive, remove -ar, -er or -ir, and add the correct preterite ending. Accent marks are part of the spelling, so do not leave them out.

Regular -AR Verbs: hablar

Endings: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron

Example: Ayer hablé con mi profesora. — Yesterday I spoke with my teacher.

Regular -ER Verbs: beber

Endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron

Example: Después de surfear, bebimos agua de coco. — After surfing, we drank coconut water.

Regular -IR Verbs: vivir

Endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron

Example: Viví en El Salvador durante seis meses. — I lived in El Salvador for six months.

El Salvador, Latin America and Spain

In El Salvador, vos is common in informal conversation. In the standard preterite, it uses the same form shown here for tú: vos hablaste, vos bebiste, vos viviste. Across most of Latin America, ustedes is used for both formal and informal plural “you.”

In Spain, you will also regularly hear vosotros/as: hablasteis, bebisteis, vivisteis. The tables include both varieties so you can recognize and use the forms relevant to your situation.

Spanish Preterite Examples in Context

• El vuelo aterrizó a las seis. — The flight landed at six.
• Tomamos el autobús hasta El Zonte. — We took the bus to El Zonte.
• La profesora explicó la actividad. — The teacher explained the activity.
• Escribiste un mensaje en español. — You wrote a message in Spanish.
• Los estudiantes aprendieron muchas palabras nuevas. — The students learned many new words.
• ¿Visitaste El Salvador el año pasado? — Did you visit El Salvador last year?

Predictable Spelling Changes

Some verbs are regular in meaning and endings but change their spelling in the yo form to preserve the original sound:

• -car → -qué: buscar → busqué
• -gar → -gué: llegar → llegué
• -zar → -cé: empezar → empecé

Other verbs change their stem more substantially. Practice those separately in our Spanish preterite irregular verbs guide.

Preterite vs. Imperfect: A Quick Comparison

For the full system, read our Spanish past tense guide.

Five Common Mistakes to Avoid

1. Forgetting accents: hablé and habló are different forms.
2. Using the infinitive ending: write bebí, not beberí.
3. Mixing preterite and imperfect: decide whether the action is completed or provides background.
4. Using vosotros and ustedes endings together: choose hablasteis or hablaron according to the subject.
5. Adding a final -s to the tú form: the standard form is hablaste, not hablastes.

Spanish Preterite Practice: 6 Free Exercises

Complete all six conjugation tables below. You will practice beber, escribir, cantar, hablar, salir and nacer. Include every accent mark, and remember that the vosotros forms belong to the Spanish used in Spain.

Try the exercises without looking at the tables first. Then compare your answers with the answer key immediately below the activity.

Watch our short Spanish preterite video if you would like another explanation before you begin.

Practice tip: Say each form aloud before you enter it. This helps you connect spelling, stress and pronunciation.

Interactive Conjugation Exercises

Complete all six verb grids. Pay attention to accent marks, then open the answer key below to check your work.

Answer Key

What Should You Study Next?

• Understand how the main past tenses work together in our Spanish past tense overview.
• Practice background descriptions and repeated past actions with our Spanish imperfect conjugation guide.
• Continue with stem changes and special forms in our irregular Spanish preterite exercises.

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Reviewed and updated by the SAY ZONTE! Teaching Team on August 26, 2026.