Spanish Past Tense
Preterite vs Imperfect
The preterite views a past action as finished, while the imperfect views it as ongoing or habitual. The same verb can take either tense depending on how the speaker sees the action.
| Preterite | Imperfect |
|---|---|
| Completed actions with a clear start or end | Ongoing or repeated actions |
| Single events | Habits and routines |
| Specific moment in time | Descriptions and background |
| Moves a story forward | Sets the scene |
For example, Comí a las dos (I ate at two) is preterite, a single completed event, whereas Comía todos los días a las dos (I used to eat every day at two) is imperfect, a repeated habit.
The Preterite (Pretérito Indefinido)
The preterite describes actions the speaker views as completed, with a clear beginning, a clear end, or a specific moment in time. Use it for completed actions, single events, actions with a specific time reference, and actions that move a story forward.
- Ayer hablé con María. → I spoke with María yesterday.
- Terminamos el proyecto la semana pasada. → We finished the project last week.
- Nací en 1995. → I was born in 1995.
Common time markers include ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), la semana pasada (last week), el año pasado (last year) and en 2020 (in 2020).
Regular Endings
| Person | hablar (-ar) | comer (-er / -ir) |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | comí |
| tú | hablaste | comiste |
| él / ella / usted | habló | comió |
| nosotros | hablamos | comimos |
| vosotros | hablasteis | comisteis |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaron | comieron |
The Present Perfect (Pretérito Perfecto Compuesto)
The present perfect connects the past to the present, describing actions that happened but remain relevant now. Use it for life experiences, recent actions, actions whose results still matter, and events within a time period that has not yet finished. It is formed with haber plus the past participle: he hablado, has hablado, ha hablado, hemos hablado, habéis hablado, han hablado.
Most past participles are regular: -ar becomes -ado (hablado), while -er and -ir become -ido (comido, vivido). Several common verbs have irregular participles:
| Infinitive | Participle |
|---|---|
| hacer | hecho |
| decir | dicho |
| ver | visto |
| escribir | escrito |
| abrir | abierto |
| poner | puesto |
| volver | vuelto |
| romper | roto |
Examples: He terminado el trabajo (I have finished the work), Nunca he estado en México (I have never been to Mexico) and Ya hemos comido (We have already eaten).
The Pluperfect (Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto)
The pluperfect is the past before the past: it describes one past action that happened before another. It is formed with haber in the imperfect plus the past participle: había hablado, habías hablado, había hablado, and so on.
- Cuando llegué, ya habían salido. → When I arrived, they had already left.
- Nunca había visto algo así. → I had never seen anything like that.
Whenever you move further back in time while telling a story, the pluperfect is usually the tense you need.
Find out more
The preterite describes completed past actions with a clear beginning or end, while the imperfect describes ongoing situations, habits and descriptions in the past. Comí a las dos (I ate at two) is preterite, whereas Comía todos los días a las dos (I used to eat every day at two) is imperfect.
Remove the infinitive ending and add the preterite endings: for hablar this gives hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron, while -er and -ir verbs share one set of endings. Several common verbs, such as tener and hacer, have irregular forms.
To talk about the past, add an -ed towards your verb to indicate the past tense (present: show/ past: showed). Some verbs are irregular and change form (like go → went, have → had, buy → bought).
Use the present perfect for recent actions, life experiences, and events in a time period that has not finished, as in Nunca he estado en México (I have never been to Mexico). It is formed with haber plus the past participle.