What the indefinido is for
The pretérito indefinido (simple past) tells of actions that are finished: they have a clear beginning and a clear end.
This is your English simple past: I spoke, I ate, I lived there. The catch is that the English simple past also covers habits and background (I ate there every Friday). Spanish puts those in a different tense, the imperfecto, so one English form splits into two Spanish ones.
This is how the indefinido sounds
Ayer hablé con María.
Yesterday I spoke to María.
Anoche comí paella.
Last night I ate paella.
How to build it
Add the ending to the stem (the infinitive minus -ar/-er/-ir). English adds one single -ed for every person; Spanish has six different endings, and they tell your listener who did it. -er and -ir verbs share the same endings, so there are only two sets to learn.
Endings in the indefinido
| Person | -ar: hablar | -er: comer | -ir: vivir |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | comí | viví |
| tú | hablaste | comiste | viviste |
| él/ella/usted | habló | comió | vivió |
| nosotros/as | hablamos | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros/as | hablasteis | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablaron | comieron | vivieron |
hablar: to speak · comer: to eat · vivir: to live
The yo and él/ella/usted forms carry an accent on the ending: hablé, habló, comí, comió.
With -ar and -ir verbs the nosotros form looks like the present: hablamos, vivimos. A time expression like ayer shows that it is the past.
There is no Spanish did. The ending does the work in questions and negatives: ¿Comiste paella? (Did you eat paella?), No hablé con María. (I didn't speak to María.)
All three groups in a sentence
El tren llegó a las tres.
The train arrived at three.
Bebimos un café en la plaza.
We drank a coffee in the square.
Mis padres escribieron muchas cartas.
My parents wrote a lot of letters.
Spelling of the yo form
With verbs ending in -car, -gar and -zar, only the yo form changes its spelling, so that the sound stays the same. All other forms are regular.
Ayer llegué tarde a casa.
Yesterday I got home late.
Empecé a estudiar español hace un año.
I started studying Spanish a year ago.
When to use it
An event at a stated time
El año pasado viajamos a México.
Last year we travelled to Mexico.
En 2020 terminé la universidad.
In 2020 I finished university.
A period with a start and an end
The length is stated and it is over: dos años, tres meses.
Viví en Barcelona dos años.
I lived in Barcelona for two years.
Ella trabajó en un banco tres años.
She worked in a bank for three years.
Typical time expressions are ayer, anoche, el año pasado, hace dos días and en 2020.
