A four part packet on the preterit tense in Spanish. Great for Spanish learners or teachers! This packet corresponds with an accompanying PowerPoint (linked here goo.gl/S7t7Wq). We recommend learners print off the Learning the Preterite Packet, fill it in by following along through the Learning the Preterite PowerPoint (goo.gl/S7t7Wq), and the use the completed packet as a handy reference guide to the Preterite! Click here (goo.gl/ZNjPTN) for the extended full lesson with the editable PowerPoint, accompanying packet, additional practice material, and Kahoot game! Visit SharingLanguage.org for more great resources. Happy Learning!

1. d
El Pretérito
❶ Los Verbos Regulares
¿Cuándo usa el pretérito?
 To explain actions or events in the past that have already finished.
Ejemplo: Empecé a jugar el año pasado. (I started playing last year.)
 To describe events in the past
Ejemplo: La película fue interesante. (The movie was interesting.)
 To indicate a change in an emotion or condition in the past.
Ejemplo: Me alegré cuando gané la lotería. (I became happy when I won the lottery.)
 When an action is interrupted by another action in the past, the interrupting action will use el pretérito.
Ejemplo: Estudiaba cuando el teléfono sonó. (I was studying when the phone rang.)
Palabras y frases útiles con el pretérito
ayer‐‐
de repente‐‐
anoche‐‐
durante‐‐
por horas‐‐
esta mañana‐‐
anteayer‐‐
el año pasado‐‐
‐AR ‐ER ‐IR
So conjugated verbs will look like this:
Hablar: Comer: Vivir:
¡Practica!
1. I washed__________________________
2. He finished ________________________
3. They learned_______________________
4. Y’all danced_______________________
Verbos especiales que significa una cosa
un poco diferente en el pretérito
conocer‐‐
saber‐‐
pensar‐‐
tener‐‐
tener que‐‐
poder‐‐
querer‐‐
no querer‐‐
5. You (formal) answered __________________
6. They received _________________________
7. I lived ________________________________
8. You (informal) studied __________________
9. We met ______________________________
10. She prepared __________________________
sharinglanguage.org
Learning the Preterit in Spanish

2. El Pretérito
❷ Los verbos de CAR GAR ZAR
The first type of irregular verb in el pretérito that we will look at are verbs that have a “yo” form
that doesn’t correspond with the normal pattern of conjugation. These verbs all end in “‐car,”
“‐gar,” or “‐zar” and have an irregular spelling only in the “yo” form in order to ensure that the
sound of the verb is maintained
Here are some examples of CAR GAR ZAR/ irregular “yo” verbs:
tocar ‐ to touch,
to play (an instrument) pagar ‐ to pay empezar‐ to start
_______ tocamos ______ pagamos ________ empezamos
tocaste tocasteis pagaste pagasteis empezaste empezasteis
tocó tocaron pagó pagaron empezó empezaron
‐CAR  ‐qué ‐GAR  ‐gué ‐ZAR  cé
tocar‐ pagar‐ empezar‐
buscar‐ jugar‐ cruzar‐
sacar‐ llegar‐ abrazar‐
practicar‐ entregar‐ almorzar‐
aplicar‐ apagar‐
comunicar‐
dedicar‐
educar‐
explicar‐
marcar‐
pescar‐
¡Practica!
1) I practiced __________________________
2) I played (sports) ______________________
3) I turned in __________________________
4) I ate lunch __________________________
5) I communicated _____________________
6) I explained _________________________
7) I applied ___________________________
8) I took out __________________________
sharinglanguage.org
Learning the Preterit in Spanish

3. Dormir
Morir
Construir
Destruir
Incluir
Also: These three verbs don’t fit in with the
rest of the stem changes because of
additional accents, but their irregular
forms still fall into the sandal pattern:
El Pretérito
❸ ¡Las sandalias!
Sandal Verbs, often called Stem Changing Verbs, in the preterit have irregular forms in only
the él/ella/usted, and ellos/ellas/ustedes forms. To help remember this pattern they are
sometimes referred to as “las sandalias.”
The 3 types of stem changes:
yo nosotros
tú vosotros
él, ella,
usted
ellos, ellas,
ustedes
¡Practica!
1. He built__________________________
2. I heard __________________________
3. They slept_____________________
4. You (formal) read_______________________
5. We ordered _____________________
6. She prefered __________________________
7. You (informal) believed__________________
8. The students had fun____________________
9. I lied _________________________
10. The girl suggested____________________
E  I
pedir (to ask for, to order)
pedí pedimos
pediste pedisteis
pidió pidieron
leer
leí leímos
leíste leísteis
leyó leyeron
I  Y
construir (to construct/build)
construí construimos
construiste construisteis
construyó construyeron
O  U
dormir (to sleep)
dormí dormimos
dormiste dormisteis
durmió durmieron
Pedir
Preferir
Mentir
Sentir
Divertir
Repetir
Sugerir
Servir
Vestir
Seguir
creer
creí creímos
creíste creísteis
creyó creyeron
oír
oí oímos
oíste oísteis
oyó oyeron
Learning the Preterit in Spanish
sharinglanguage.org

4. El Pretérito
❹ Los verbos completamente irregulares
ir (to go) / ser (to be)
saber (to know)
poder (to be able to)
poner (to put, to set)
traer (to bring)
estar (to be)
tener (to have)
conducir (to drive)
andar (to walk, to ride)
producir (to produce)
dar (to give)
decir (to say)
ver (to see)
Haber (There was…)
Solo hay una forma, como
“hay” en el presente.
venir (to come)
hacer (to do, to make)
sharinglanguage.org
Learning the Preterit in Spanish
querer (to want)
F U J I