The Preterite Tense In Spanish Trenton NJ

Now that you have mastered conjugating verbs in the preterit tense, you must learn when the preterit tense is appropriate.

There are certain situations in the past that will be stated using the preterit tense. Usually preterit situations have something to do with completed actions that can be placed at a specific point in time. The acronym SAFE will help you remember the types of situations in the past that require you to use the preterit tense. In the English examples below, the verbs in bold print would be conjugated in the preterit in Spanish because of the way they are used in the sentence.

Use the preterit tense of the verb when the sentence indicates:

• Specific instance or number of instances

  • Le llamó tres veces. El me llamó ayer

  • He called him three times. He called me yesterday.

• Action that interrupts ongoing events

  • Ella llamó mientras yo trabajaba.

  • She called while I was working.

• Focus on beginning or ending of action

  • Llovió a las seis y media en punto.

  • It rained at exactly 6:30.

• Enclosed amount of time (line segment)

  • Los árabes controlaron mucho de España por más que 700 años.

  • The Arabs controlled much of Spain for over 700 years.

Cliffs Notes Online