Preterite of AR VerbsChapter 8 Grammar 1.1

Preterite

Use the preterite tense to talk about what happened or what someone did at a specific point in the past.To from the preterite of verbs that end in ar, like comprar, drop the ar and add the following endings.

Preterite of AR Endings

(Yo) é (Nosotros/as) amos

(Tú) aste (Vosotros/as) asteis

(Él/ella/Usted) ó

(Ellos/ellas/Ustedes) aron

Ejemplos• Compré un DVD ayer. • I bought a DVD yesterday.• Nadaron en la piscina el fin de semana pasado.

• They swam in the pool this past weekend.

• Hablaste por telefono a tus amigos el lunes pasado.

• You talked on the telephone to your friends this past Monday.

Nosotros in the Preterite Note that, in the preterite, the

nosotros form of ar verbs looks exactly like the present tense form.

You will have to use context clues to decide whether the speaker is talking about the present or past tense.

Isa y yo gastamos mucho ayer. Casi nunca gastamos tanto.

Stem Changing AR Verbs The stem changing ar verbs do

not have a stem change in the preterite.

Encontré una camisa bonita y la compré

Rhyme for AR Preterite Little Miss Muffet sat on a tuffet

Eating her curds and whey, Along came a spider, Who sat down beside herAnd frightened Miss Muffet away

Rhyme for AR Preterite Little Miss Muffé Sat on her aste Eating her curds and ó Along came Amos And sat her on asteis And everyone went aron

Which of the following verbs is in the preterite?A. Yo comproB. Yo compréC. Yo compraba

Which of the following is in the preterite?A. Ella hablóB. Ella habléC. Ella habla

What does the preterite show?A. Same thing the present tense shows.B. A completed past action.C. An action going on right now.

True/False: Stem changing AR verbs do not stem change in the preterite.

A. TrueB. False

Which of the following could be in the present AND preterite?A. Yo habloB. Usted hablaC. Nosotros hablamos

[Default][MC Any][MC All]