Gramática 2

Capítulo 8
El pretérito (the preterite)
 Used to talk about:
 what happened at a specific point in time
 what someone did at a specific point in time

 Por ejemplo:
 She ate the cheese burger.
 We went to bed at 9:00.

 The play started.

Common ‘hint’ words

 ayer
 anteayer
 el lunes (el martes, etc.)
 un día (un verano, un invierno, etc.)
 de repente (suddenly)
 la semana pasada
Preterite –ar endings

é amos
aste asteis
ó aron
Preterite –ar verbs
 Yes, the nosotros preterite ending looks
just like the present tense nosotros ending.
 Use the context to decide which tense the
speaker is using.
 Stem-changing –ar verbs do NOT stem-
change in the preterite.
Práctica – Write the following verbs in
the preterite according to the subject.
1. alquiló un
alquilar unvideo
video (Miguel)
2. cenarcon
cené conamigos
amigos (yo)
3. ayudar en casa
ayudamos en casa
(mi hermana y yo)
4. comprar ropa
compraste ropa
(tú)
5. escuchar música
escucharon música (mi mamá y papá)
Preterite of ir
 To say where
someone went at a
certain time in the past
fui fuimos
 ir is irregular in the
preterite. fuiste fuisteis

fue fueron
Preterite of ir
 Use adónde to ask where someone went.
 ¿Adónde fuiste ayer? Where’d you go
yesterday?
 Fui al cine. I went to the movies.
 Use a + infinitive after ir to say why
someone went somewhere.
 Fuimos a la librería a comprar libros.
We went to the bookstore to buy books.
Preterite of –ar verbs with reflexive
pronouns
 **Reminder: Use the preterite to talk about
 what happened at a specific point in the past and
 to narrate a sequence of events in the past
 Ayer fui al cine con mis amigos, regresé tarde a
casa y me acosté.
 Remember to use the correct reflexive
pronoun when necessary.
Ej: Preterite reflexives
levantarse (to get up)

me levanté nos levantamos

te levantaste

se levantó se levantaron
Práctica – Put the following verbs into the
preterite according to the subject in parenthesis.
1. me levanté(yo)
levantarse
2. cepillarse
te cepillaste
(tú)
3. comprar (Ud.)
compró
4. bañarse
nos bañamos
(nosotros)
5. ir (ellos)
fueron
6. acostarse
se acostó (mi hermano)
7. encontrar (mis amigos)
encontraron