Spanish Preterite:

This tense focuses on the end of an action. It doesn't care how long something lasted. It only cares that it is over now. Imagine you are describing your weekend to a friend. You didn't just 'live' through Saturday. You comiste (ate) a great pizza. You viste (watched) a movie. You fuiste (went) to the park. Each of these is a distinct, completed event. This is why we call it a 'perfect' tense in some contexts. Not because it is flawless, but because it is 'complete'. Even native speakers mess up the irregulars sometimes. So, don't sweat the small stuff yet. Just focus on the fact that the action has a clear beginning and end. If you can put a timestamp on it, you probably need the Preterite. It is the tense of the 'what' rather than the 'how'.

1. 1Identify the verb type. Is it -ar, -er, or -ir? This is your first step.
2. 2Remove the ending. Take off the -ar, -er, or -ir to find the stem.
3. 3Add the new endings. For -ar verbs, the endings are: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.
4. 4For both -er and -ir verbs, the endings are identical: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
5. 5Watch out for accents! The yo and él/ella forms always need them. Without the accent, habló (he spoke) becomes hablo (I speak). That is a big difference!
6. 6Learn the 'Dirty Dozen' irregulars. Verbs like tener becomes tuve. Hacer becomes hice. Decir becomes dije. These don't follow the rules, so they just need memorization. Think of them as the rebels of the Spanish past.

Use the Preterite for completed actions in the past. If you can point to it on a calendar, use it. Phrases like ayer (yesterday) or el año pasado (last year) are huge clues. Use it for a sequence of events. "I woke up, I brushed my teeth, and I left." That is a classic Preterite chain. Use it to talk about an action that interrupted something else. "I was sleeping when the phone sonó (rang)." The ringing is a sudden, completed interruption. Use it for specific dates. "I nací (was born) in 1990." It is also perfect for reactions. "The movie me gustó (I liked it)." This shows your final opinion after the credits rolled. It is the tense for giving directions about what you did. "I doblé (turned) at the corner."

Do not use the Preterite for habits. If you did something every day, that's a job for the Imperfect. Do not use it for background descriptions. If you are describing the weather or someone's clothes, stay away. "It was sunny" is not Preterite. Do not use it for ages in the past. "I was ten years old" is always Imperfect. Do not use it for ongoing mental states. "I wanted a car" (for a long time) is not Preterite. Think of the Preterite as a strike of lightning. It is fast and specific. If your sentence feels like a long, fuzzy cloud, you probably need a different tense. If you can't put a specific 'stop' time on it, be careful. Using Preterite for a habit sounds like you only did it once ever.

Mixing up -er and -ir endings is common. Luckily, in the Preterite, they are the same! The biggest mistake is forgetting accents. Comió means "he/she ate," but comio is not a word. Another big one is the nosotros form for -ar verbs. It is the same as the present! Hablamos can mean "we speak" or "we spoke." You have to look at the context. Many people try to regularize irregulars. They say tení instead of tuve. It is a classic move, but it will mark you as a beginner. Also, watch out for 'J' stems. For decir, the third person plural is dijeron, not dijieron. That extra 'i' is a common trap. Lastly, don't confuse fui (I went) with fui (I was). They look the same because they are the same!

The biggest rival of the Preterite is the Imperfect. The Preterite is a snapshot; the Imperfect is a video. The Preterite says *what happened*. The Imperfect says *how things were*. For example, "I comí" means I finished my meal. "I comía" means I used to eat or I was eating. It is the difference between a period and a wavy line. Another contrast is with the Present Perfect (he comido). We use the Present Perfect for things that still feel connected to now. The Preterite is for things that are firmly in the past. If you say "I fui to Spain," you are done with that trip. If you say "I he ido to Spain," you are talking about your life experience up to today.