UNIDOS

An Interactive Approach
Second Edition

Chapter 6

¿Qué te gusta comprar?

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
 Talking about the past
Preterit tense of regular verbs
Compré un
bonito
¿Qué
vestido.
compraste
tú?

pp. 200–202
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
 Preterit tense of regular verbs

There are two simple tenses in Spanish that

are used to discuss the past: the preterit
(el pretérito) and the imperfect (el
imperfecto).
The preterit tense is used to express:
• past events, actions, and conditions that
are viewed as completed or ended

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
The conjugation of regular -ar verbs
tomar = to take, to drink
Just as with present tense verbs, we
always start with the stem of the verb.

tomé tomamos
tomaste tom asteis
tomó tomaron
The yo and the usted, él, ella forms of the preterit
-ar verbs always bear a written accent on the final
syllable.
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
The conjugation of regular -er verbs
comer = to eat
We start with the stem.

comí comimos
comiste comisteis
comió comieron
The yo and the usted, él, ella forms of the preterit
-er verbs always bear a written accent on the final
syllable.

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
 The conjugation of regular -ir verbs
vivir = to live
Notice that -ir verbs are conjugated exactly
like -er verbs.

viví vivimos
viviste vivisteis
vivió vivieron
The yo and the usted, él, ella forms of the preterit
-ir verbs always bear a written accent on the final
syllable.
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
 Nosotros forms

The nosotros forms of -ar and -ir verbs are the

same in the preterit as in the present tense. This
does not normally cause confusion since context
usually clarifies the meaning.
Tomamos el autobús al centro todos los días.
We take the bus downtown every day.
Tomamos el autobús a la escuela ayer.
We took the bus to school yesterday.

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
 Nosotros forms

The nosotros forms of -ar and -ir verbs are the

same in the preterit as in the present tense. This
does not normally cause confusion since context
usually clarifies the meaning.
Vivimos en Nueva York ahora.
We live in New York now.
Vivimos en Puerto Rico el año pasado.
We lived in Puerto Rico last year.

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
Stem-changing -ar and -er verbs
Stem-changing verbs ending in -ar and -er do
not have a stem change in the preterit.
pensar
pensé pensamos Pensé en ti ayer.
pensaste pensasteis
I thought about you
pensó pensaron
yesterday.
volver
Mi padre volvío a casa
volví volvimos a las diez de la noche.
volviste volvisteis My father returned
volvió volvieron home at 10:00 P.M.
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and
-zar
Verbs that end in -car have the following spelling
changes in the first-person singular of the preterit.
All other forms of these verbs are conjugated
regularly.
c  qu Example: buscar
busqué buscamos
buscaste buscasteis
buscó buscaron
Busqué el programa en la tele.
I looked for the program on TV.
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and
-zar
Verbs that end in -gar have the following spelling
changes in the first-person singular of the preterit.
All other forms of these verbs are conjugated
regularly.
g  gu Example: llegar
llegué llegamos
llegaste llegasteis
llegó llegaron
Llegué muy contento hoy.
I arrived very happy today.
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and
-zar
Verbs that end in -zar have the following spelling
changes in the first-person singular of the preterit.
All other forms of these verbs are conjugated
regularly.

zc Example: almorzar

almorcé almorzamos
almorzaste almorzasteis
almorzó almorzaron
Almorcé poco hoy.
I had little for lunch today.
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
Useful expressions to use with the
preterit

anoche last night

anteayer day before yesterday
ante(a)noche the night before last
ayer yesterday

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
Useful expressions to use with the
preterit
el año/mes
last year/month
pasado

la semana pasada last week

una semana atrás a week ago

hace un it has been a
día/mes/año day/month/year
que since
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
 ¡A practicar!

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
 ¿Qué pasó?
Yo ___tome’__ (tomar) el autobús al supermercado
esta mañana.
Nosotros _____comimos____ (comer) en la
cafetería de la universidad.
¿____Viviste____ (vivir) tú en Guatemala alguna
vez?
Yo ____yo empece_____ (empezar) a estudiar la
lección siete.
Yo __jugue’____ (jugar) al béisbol con mis
amigos hoy.
Yo ___practique’_______ (practicar) el piano
esta mañana.
Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
Ejercicio 8M . Pagina 201
See the explanations on page 198

1.Tu RECIBISTE una visita ayer (TU: ISTE)

2.Ella COMPRO unos termometros ayer
3.Ustedes VENDIERON unos otoscopios ayer
4.Nosotros NECESITAMOS unas vendas
5.VENDEr vendieron ustedes> ieron

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.
 FIN

Unidos: An Interactive Approach, Second Edition Copyright ©2016 by Pearson Education, Inc.
Guzmán | Lapuerta | Liskin-Gasparro All rights reserved.