How to Catch Spanish Past Tense When You Hear It 👂🇪🇸

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Welcome back to Master Spanish Weekly, a place to build real Spanish skills one topic at a time. This week, we’re focusing on something you need when listening to native speakers: How to recognize past tense (pretérito indefinido) just by hearing it.

📘 Let’s Break It Down: PAST TENSE Endings You Can Hear

When Spanish speakers talk about the past, they often use the pretérito indefinido, especially for completed actions like:

• Ayer trabajé - Yesterday I worked 

• La semana pasada viajamos - Last weekend we traveled

• Ella cocinó la cena - She cooked dinner

In English, the past is often marked by -ed, but in Spanish, we hear the difference through verb endings. Let’s review the conjugation chart for regular verbs:

🧠 Past Tense Endings – Regular Verbs

👂 What to Listen For:

Here are the sounds that reveal it’s past tense:

✅ “-é” → hablé, caminé, llamé
✅ “-aste / -iste” → trabajaste, hablaste, comiste, escribiste
✅ “-ó” → trabajó, estudió, vivió
✅ “-aron / -ieron” → llegaron, comieron, aprendieron

When listening to native Spanish speakers, these ending sounds are clues that someone is talking about the past, specifically the pretérito indefinido (simple past for completed actions).

🗣️Real-Life Examples: Read them aloud!

✅ “-é” (yo – for -AR verbs)

• Hablé con ella ayer. (I spoke with her yesterday.)

• Caminé por el parque. (I walked through the park.)

• Llamé a mi mamá por la tarde. (I called my mom in the afternoon.)

✅ “-aste / -iste” (tú – informal you)

• ¿Trabajaste el fin de semana? (Did you work this weekend?)

• ¿Comiste algo? (Did you eat anything?)

• Escribiste muy bien. (You wrote very well.)

✅ “-ó” (él/ella/usted)

• Mi hermano estudió en casa. (My brother studied at home.)

• Ella trabajó hasta tarde. (She worked late.)

• ¿Vivió en México, verdad? (He/She lived in Mexico, right?)

✅ “-aron / -ieron” (ellos/ellas/ustedes)

• Mis amigos llegaron temprano. (My friends arrived early.)

• Ellos comieron en ese restaurante. (They ate at that restaurant.)

• Aprendieron mucho en la clase. (They learned a lot in the class.)

🧠 Mini Quiz: Past Tense (Pretérito Indefinido)

Choose the correct verb form to complete each sentence in the simple past (pretérito indefinido):

1️⃣ Ayer yo __________ (levantarse) muy temprano.
2️⃣ ¿Tú __________ (trabajar) Google por 10 años?
3️⃣ Nosotros __________(hablar) mucho sobre política en la cena anoche.
4️⃣ Hace mucho tiempo que él nos __________ (visitar).
5️⃣ Mi amiga nos __________ (escribir) una carta muy bonita cuando fue a Italia.

📥 Click here to take the quiz and check your answers

🆚 English vs. Spanish: Double Negatives

In English, we’re taught to avoid saying things like: ❌ I don’t know nothing

But double negatives are not only allowed in Spanish; they’re required!

✅ No sé nada. → I don’t know anything
✅ No tengo ningún problema. → I don’t have any problem
✅ Nunca dije nada. → I never said anything

🎯 Key difference: In Spanish, negatives reinforce the meaning. Saying “no” + “nada” or “nadie” is correct and common.

Watch my short Instagram reel explaining it here 👇🏼

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Gracias por leer

Gracias por tomarte el tiempo de leer mi newsletter y por tu interés en aprender Español. Nos vemos la próxima semana con más temas útiles y expresiones reales para mejorar tu forma de hablar, escribir, escuchar y leer en Español.

🗳️ Poll: Let’s hear from you!

Un abrazo,

Alejandro.

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