In Spanish, when we talk about things that happened in the past, we use something called the preterite tense.

Regular verbs change based on their endings, which are -ar, -er, and -ir. Let's make it simple!

Regular -ar Verbs

For regular -ar verbs, here are the endings we use:

• yo: -é (I)
• tú: -aste (you, informal)
• él/ella/Ud.: -ó (he/she/you, formal)
• nosotros/as: -amos (we)
• vosotros/as: -asteis (you all, informal in Spain)
• ellos/ellas/Uds.: -aron (they/you all, formal)

Example: hablar (to speak)

• Yo hablé (I spoke)
• Tú hablaste (You spoke)
• Él habló (He spoke)
• Nosotros hablamos (We spoke)
• Vosotros hablasteis (You all spoke)
• Ellos hablaron (They spoke)

Regular -er Verbs

Now, let's look at regular -er verbs. Their endings are:

• yo: -í (I)
• tú: -iste (you, informal)
• él/ella/Ud.: -ió (he/she/you, formal)
• nosotros/as: -imos (we)
• vosotros/as: -isteis (you all, informal in Spain)
• ellos/ellas/Uds.: -ieron (they/you all, formal)

Example: comer (to eat)

• Yo comí (I ate)
• Tú comiste (You ate)
• Él comió (He ate)
• Nosotros comimos (We ate)
• Vosotros comisteis (You all ate)
• Ellos comieron (They ate)

Regular -ir Verbs

The endings for regular -ir verbs are the same as those for -er verbs:

• yo: -í (I)
• tú: -iste (you, informal)
• él/ella/Ud.: -ió (he/she/you, formal)
• nosotros/as: -imos (we)
• vosotros/as: -isteis (you all, informal in Spain)
• ellos/ellas/Uds.: -ieron (they/you all, formal)

Example: vivir (to live)

• Yo viví (I lived)
• Tú viviste (You lived)
• Él vivió (He lived)
• Nosotros vivimos (We lived)
• Vosotros vivisteis (You all lived)
• Ellos vivieron (They lived)

By remembering these patterns, you can easily change regular verbs into the preterite tense!