What the preterite means
Use the preterite to present a past action as complete. It often answers what happened, how many times something occurred, or when an action began or ended.
- Ayer estudié dos horas.Yesterday I studied for two hours.
- Llegaron a las ocho.They arrived at eight.
Regular endings
Regular -ar verbs use -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -aron. Regular -er and -ir verbs use -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -ieron. Written accents distinguish several preterite forms from present-tense forms.
When not to use it
Background descriptions, age, time, and ongoing past situations normally use the imperfect. Choose the tense according to how the speaker frames the event, not from a single English translation.
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