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Past tense (preterite) in Spanish

MFL, Spanish grammar. Usually met in years 7 to 11.

Choose the right form of common Spanish verbs in the preterite, for what happened.

What you practise

Starts with the most common verbs and adds irregular ones level by level. Practice moves up a level when a round goes well and down when it does not.

Sample questions

Each sample comes with the method and the reason every wrong option is wrong. Real practice rounds are ten questions at your level.

Sample question, level 2 of 5

yo … (comer, to eat): which is the preterite (past)?

  1. comimos
  2. comí
  3. comiste
  4. comisteis
  5. comió
Show the answer and method

Answer: B, comí

The method: With ‘yo’ (I), the preterite (past) of ‘comer’ is ‘comí’.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A, comimos: ‘comimos’ goes with ‘nosotros’, not ‘yo’.
  • C, comiste: ‘comiste’ goes with ‘tú’, not ‘yo’.
  • D, comisteis: ‘comisteis’ goes with ‘vosotros’, not ‘yo’.
  • E, comió: ‘comió’ goes with ‘él / ella’, not ‘yo’.

Sample question, level 4 of 5

tú … (ver, to see): which is the preterite (past)?

  1. vio
  2. visteis
  3. vieron
  4. verás
  5. viste
Show the answer and method

Answer: E, viste

The method: With ‘tú’ (you (one person)), the preterite (past) of ‘ver’ is ‘viste’.

Why the other options are wrong:

  • A, vio: ‘vio’ goes with ‘él / ella’, not ‘tú’.
  • B, visteis: ‘visteis’ goes with ‘vosotros’, not ‘tú’.
  • C, vieron: ‘vieron’ goes with ‘ellos / ellas’, not ‘tú’.
  • D, verás: ‘verás’ is the future tense, not the preterite (past).

See where this fits: every language topic and Key Stage 3.

Related topics: Present tense, Future tense, Gender and agreement, Ser, estar and negatives.