Verbs: Past-tense

In chapter 3, we learned about the present-tense conjugation of verbs. In this chapter, we will learn about the past-tense conjugation of verbs. Here are the past-tense conjugations for each type of verb and each pronoun:

(cantar, comer, and abrir are used as examples)

Yo

AR verbs: -é

ER verbs: -í

IR verbs: -í

Example

Yo canté (I sang)

Yo comí (I ate)

Yo abrí (I opened)

Tú

AR verbs: -aste

ER verbs: -iste

IR verbs: -iste

Example

Tú cantaste (You sang)

Tú comiste (You ate)

Tú abriste (You opened)

Él/Ella/Usted

AR verbs: -ó

ER verbs: -ió

IR verbs: -ió

Example

Él cantó (He sang)

Ella comió (she ate)

Usted abrió (You opened)

Nosotros

AR verbs: -amos

ER verbs: -emos

IR verbs: -imos

Example

Nosotros cantamos (We sang)

Nosotros comimos (We ate)

Nosotros abrimos (We opened)

Vosotros

AR verbs: -asteis

ER verbs: -isteis

IR verbs: -isteis

Example

Vosotros cantasteis
(You all sang)

Vosotros comisteis
(You all ate)

Vosotros abristeis
(You all opened)

Ellos/Ellas/
Ustedes

AR verbs: -aron

ER verbs: -ieron

IR verbs: -ieron

Example

Ellos cantaron (They sang)

Ellos comieron (They ate)

Ellos abrieron (They opened)

The imperfect tense

The imperfect tense implies that something would occur often in the past. For exapmle, "He would talk with his neighbor." implies that the person would talk with his neighbor often. Meanwhile, "He talked with his neighbor." implies that the person only talked with his neighbor once. Here are the imperfect tense conjugations for spanish verbs.

(cantar, comer, and abrir are used as examples)

Yo

AR verbs: -aba

ER verbs: -ía

IR verbs: -ía

Example

Yo cantaba (I would sing)

Yo comía (I would eat)

Yo abría (I would open)

Tú

AR verbs: -abas

ER verbs: -ías

IR verbs: -ías

Example

Tú cantabas (You would sing)

Tú comías (You would eat)

Tú abrías (You would open)

Él/Ella/Usted

AR verbs: -aba

ER verbs: -ía

IR verbs: -ía

Example

Él cantaba (He would sing)

Ella comía (she would eat)

Usted abría (You would open)

Nosotros

AR verbs: -amos

ER verbs: -íamos

IR verbs: -íamos

Example

Nosotros cantamos (We sang)

Nosotros comíamos (We would eat)

Nosotros abríamos (We would open)

Vosotros

AR verbs: -abais

ER verbs: -íais

IR verbs: -íais

Example

Vosotros cantabais
(You all would sing)

Vosotros comíais
(You all would eat)

Vosotros abríais
(You all would open)

Ellos/Ellas/
Ustedes

AR verbs: -aban

ER verbs: -ían

IR verbs: -ían

Example

Ellos cantaban (They would sing)

Ellos comían (They would eat)

Ellos abrían (They would open)