Exploring the Past Tense en Español.

¡Hola a todos!

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Understanding the 'Pretérito Indefinido'

The 'Pretérito Indefinido' (Simple Past) describes actions completed at a specific point in the past. Unlike the 'Pretérito Perfecto', which emphasizes the continuation or effects of a past action into the present, 'Indefinido' is used for actions seen as completed. Here’s a quick guide:

Formation:

Regular verbs end in -ar, -er, and -ir have distinct endings in this tense. For example:

• Hablar (to talk) → hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron.

• Comer (to eat) → comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron.

• Vivir (to live) → viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron

Here’s a the complete conjugation chart for REGULAR VERBS:

Usage:

It’s perfect for narrating past events, telling stories, or discussing historical facts. For instance:

• Ayer vi una película interesante. (Yesterday I watched an interesting movie.)

• La semana pasada tuve muchas clases de Español. (Last week I had many Spanish classes.)

• En 1969, Neil Armstrong fue el primer ser humano que pisó la superficie de la luna (In 1969, Neil Armstrong was the first human that stepped on the surface of the moon.)

Understanding this tense will greatly improve your storytelling abilities in Spanish, making your conversations richer and more engaging.

Quiz: Pretérito Indefinido

Test your knowledge of the 'Pretérito Indefinido' with this week’s quiz. Find it below:

Recommendations:

Improve your Spanish by immersing yourself in a variety of Spanish-speaking media. Here are our top picks this week:

• New Way Spanish Playlists - Curated by me, this list includes all the hits I grew up listening to.

• Social Media: Follow our Instagram account where you’ll see me and our team providing mini lessons and useful content to take your Spanish to the next level. Here’s our last post:

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Gracias for being a part of our Spanish learners community. We hope you find the resources helpful and that they inspire you to continue mastering Spanish. Remember, every step you take is bringing you closer to fluency.

Un abrazo,

Alejandro Nuñez
Director, New Way Spanish