A2.10 - Did you hear the news?

The simple past tense: regular verbs

El pretérito indefinido: Los verbos regulares

El pretérito indefinido se utiliza para hablar de acciones que ocurrieron y terminaron en el pasado.

(The pretérito indefinido is used to talk about actions that happened and finished in the past.)

When to use pretérito indefinido (simple past)

Use pretérito indefinido for a completed action in the past: it started and ended.

  • Typical time markers: ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), la semana pasada (last week), el año pasado (last year), hace dos días (two days ago).
  • Think: “It’s done. It’s over.”
Meaning Spanish example English
One finished action Ayer pregunté en recepción. Yesterday I asked at reception.
Finished period of time El año pasado viví en Madrid. Last year I lived in Madrid.

How to build it (regular verbs): the “stem + ending” logic

For regular verbs, you only do two things:

  1. Remove -ar / -er / -ir.
  2. Add the correct pretérito indefinido ending.
Verb type Endings Example (stem + ending)
-ar -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron pregunt- + é → pregunté
-er / -ir -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron viv- + í → viví

The accent marks: what to pay attention to (and why it matters)

The accent is not decoration. It often distinguishes present vs past.

Form Tense Meaning
Yo pregunte / Yo pregunté Past (indefinido) I asked
Él pregunto / Él preguntó Past (indefinido) He asked
Yo pregunto Present I ask / I’m asking
  • -ar verbs: the accent is on yo (-é) and él/ella (-ó).
  • -er/-ir verbs: the accent is on yo (-í). (Third person -ió also carries an accent.)

Common “look-alike” forms that confuse learners

Some forms are identical to the present or look very similar. Use the time marker and the accent to decide.

Form What it can mean How you know
Nosotros preguntamos We ask (present) or we asked (past) Context: hoy vs ayer
Nosotros vivimos We live or we lived Context: finished time period → past

Practical tip: If the sentence contains ayer / la semana pasada / el año pasado, choose the past meaning.

Quick self-check before you choose the tense

  • 1) Is the action finished? Yes → use pretérito indefinido.
  • 2) Do you see a finished time word? ayer, anoche, el mes pasado… → indefinido.
  • 3) Is it a regular verb? If yes: stem + endings.
  • 4) For -ar verbs: check the accent in pregunté / preguntó.

Mini model sentences you can reuse in professional contexts

  • Ayer pregunté al equipo por el plazo. (Yesterday I asked the team about the deadline.)
  • La semana pasada vivimos un cambio importante en el proyecto. (Last week we experienced an important change in the project.)
  • El director preguntó por los resultados y yo respondí. (The director asked about the results and I answered.)
  1. We use the pretérito indefinido to talk about actions completed in the past.
  2. To form the pretérito indefinido of regular verbs ending in "-ar" , we add the endings: "-é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron" .
  3. For verbs ending in "-er" and "-ir" , we add the endings: "-í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron" .
Verbo -AR: Preguntar (-AR verb: to ask)Verbo -IR, -ER: Vivir (-IR, -ER verb: to live)
Yo pregunté (I asked)Yo viví (I lived)
Tú preguntaste (You asked)Tú viviste  (You lived)
Él/Ella preguntó (He/She asked)Él/Ella vivió  (He/She lived)
Nosotros/as preguntamos (We asked)Nosotros/as vivimos  (We lived)
Vosotros/as preguntasteis (You (plural, Spain) asked)Vosotros/as vivisteis  (You (plural, Spain) lived)
Ellos/Ellas preguntaron (They asked)Ellos/Ellas vivieron  (They lived)

Exceptions!

  1. The accent is important in the first and third person singular because it shows the difference between the present tense and the pretérito indefinido.

Exercise 1: Multiple choice

Instruction: Choose the correct answer

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1. Ayer vi las noticias en la tele y ____ al presentador en las redes sociales.

Yesterday I saw the news on TV and ____ the presenter on social media.

2. ¿Oíste las noticias? Tú ____ la huelga del metro desde dentro.

Did you hear the news? You ____ the subway strike from the inside.

3. El reportero ____ por teléfono y dejó un mensaje muy claro.

The reporter ____ on the phone and left a very clear message.

4. La semana pasada ____ un mensaje y reaccionamos rápido.

Last week ____ a message and reacted quickly.

Exercise 2: Rewrite the phrases

Instruction: Rewrite the sentences in the simple past (completed action in the past). Conjugate the verb shown in parentheses.

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  1. Ayer yo (preguntar) en recepción por la sala de reuniones.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    Ayer yo pregunté en recepción por la sala de reuniones.
    (Yesterday I asked at reception about the meeting room.)
  2. La semana pasada tú (vivir) en un piso compartido cerca del centro.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    La semana pasada tú viviste en un piso compartido cerca del centro.
    (Last week you lived in a shared apartment near the city center.)
  3. El lunes él (preguntar) al jefe por el horario.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    El lunes él preguntó al jefe por el horario.
    (On Monday he asked the boss about the schedule.)
  4. El mes pasado nosotros (vivir) en Valencia por trabajo.
    ⇒ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________ Example
    El mes pasado nosotros vivimos en Valencia por trabajo.
    (Last month we lived in Valencia for work.)

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