How do I conjugate the past tense?

Regular verbs in Spanish follow a series of rules which are easy to follow and remember. Forming the past tense follows these rules - easy peasy!
You take the stem of the verb and add on certain endings, just as you would for the present tense.
[Quick recap: All spanish verbs in their basic form end in AR, ER and IR, most are regular some are irregular. When we say stem of the verb we mean the basic form of the verb without the AR, ER or IR ending. For e.g ROMPER = To Break. Stem of ROMPER = ROMP we then add on the endings to form tenses.]

Those past tense endings are as follows:

For AR verbs, such as TERMINAR (to finish) you add:

  • É =Terminé (I finished)
  • ASTE = Terminaste (you finished)
  • Ó = Terminó (He/She finished)
  • AMOS = Terminamos (We finished)
  • ASTEIS = Terminasteis (You pl. finished)
  • ARON = Terminaron (They finished)

    For IR and ER verbs  e.g. VIVIR (To live) you add:
    -Í = Viví (I lived)
    -ISTE = Viviste (You lived)
  • Ó = Vivió (He/she lived)
  • IMOS = Vivimos (We lived)
  • ISTEIS = Vivisteis (You pl. lived)
    -IERON = Vivieron (They lived)

    And that's it! Now try and form some past tense sentences...
Answered by Anna B. Spanish tutor

1642 Views

See similar Spanish GCSE tutors

Related Spanish GCSE answers

All answers ▸

Cómo es el barrio en que vives?


When should I use SER or ESTAR?


How do you conjugate the verbs Ser and Estar and when do you use them?


What is the difference between "por" and "para"?


We're here to help

contact us iconContact usWhatsapp logoMessage us on Whatsapptelephone icon+44 (0) 203 773 6020
Facebook logoInstagram logoLinkedIn logo

© MyTutorWeb Ltd 2013–2024

Terms & Conditions|Privacy Policy
Cookie Preferences