8.4.1

Uses of the Preterite

Test yourself

Uses of the Preterite Tense

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A finished one-time action

  • Fernando compró un nuevo coche.
    • Fernando bought a new car.
  • Nací en Inglaterra.
    • I was born in England.
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‘Ayer, la semana pasada, hace un año’

  • España ganó la Copa del Mundo en 2010.
    • Spain won the world cup in 2010.
  • Henry nació el cinco de julio.
    • Henry was born on the 5th of July.
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A finished period of time

  • Vivieron en Australia durante seis meses.
    • They lived in Australia for six months.
  • Leí este libro el año pasado.
    • I read this book last year.
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Events in order, a sequence of actions

  • Me vestí y salí a dar una vuelta.
    • I got dressed and went for a walk.
  • Entró, bebió una cerveza y comió un pedazo de pan.
    • He came in, drank a beer and ate a piece of bread.
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Past events in a story

  • Llegó a la playa y puso su toalla en la arena.
    • She arrived at the beach and put her towel on the sand.
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Start and end of events

  • Empezó a llover.
    • It began to rain.
  • La novela terminó con un final cómico.
    • The book ended with a comic end.

Jump to other topics

1The Basics

2Everyday Activities

3Personal & Social Life

4The World Around Us

5The World of Work

6The International World

7Listening

7.1Time Expressions - Listening

7.2The Human Body & Health - Listening

7.3Food & Drink - Listening

7.4Travel & Transport - Listening

7.5Self, Family & Friends - Listening

7.6In the Home - Listening

7.7Colours - Listening

7.8Clothes & Accesories - Listening

7.9Leisure Time - Listening

7.10People & Places - Listening

7.11The Environment - Listening

7.12Communications & Technology - Listening

7.13The Built Environment - Listening

7.14Measurements - Listening

7.15Materials - Listening

7.16The World of Work - Listening

7.17Culture, Customs, Faith & Celebrations

8Common Tenses

8.1Present Tense

8.2Preterite Tense

8.3Imperfect Tense

8.4Preterite vs Imperfect Tenses

8.5Future Tense

9Important Verbs

10Advanced Tenses

10.1Future

10.2Conditional

10.3Continuous Tenses

10.4Perfect Tense

10.5Passive

10.6Present Subjunctive

10.7Imperfect Subjunctive

10.8Imperative

11Extra Grammar

11.1Articles

11.2Negatives

11.3Nouns

11.4Asking Questions

11.5Adjectives

11.6Adverbs

11.7Conjunctions

11.8Pronouns

11.9Prepositions

11.10Verbs

11.11Comparisons & Superlative

11.12Numbers, Expressions of Quantity, Dates & Times

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