Pretérito Indefinido (Regular -AR)

What the Pretérito Indefinido Does

The pretérito indefinido describes actions that happened in the past and are completely finished.

• Llegué temprano. = I arrived early
• Trabajamos mucho ayer. = We worked a lot yesterday
• Compraron una casa. = They bought a house

Core Meaning

A completed action in a finished time period.

Typical Time Expressions

These expressions indicate that the time is closed and finished.

Use Cases

1. Single completed actions

• Llegué a casa.
• Empezó la reunión.

2. Sequence of events

• Llegué, hablé con ella y salí.

3. Specific moment in the past

• Ayer trabajé todo el día.

Key Contrast with Pretérito Perfecto

• Hoy he trabajado. (today, not finished)
• Ayer trabajé. (yesterday, finished)

Important Insight

Indefinido is the main narrative past tense. It is used to tell stories and describe what happened.

First Focus

This level covers only regular -AR verbs. Patterns must become automatic before adding irregular forms.

Conjugation Formula

infinitive − ar + ending = past form

• hablar → habl- + é = hablé
• trabajar → trabaj- + aste = trabajaste

Full Example: hablar (to speak)

Accent Rules

Notice the accents:

• yo → hablé
• él → habló

These accents are mandatory and distinguish forms.

Important Observation

The nosotros form is identical to present:

• hablamos = we speak / we spoke

Meaning depends on context:

• Hoy hablamos mucho → present
• Ayer hablamos mucho → past

Word Order

Standard structure:

• sujeto + verbo

Examples:

• Llegué temprano
• Compramos comida

Negative Sentences

• No trabajé ayer
• No compramos nada

Questions

• ¿Llegaste temprano?
• ¿Compraron algo?

Narrative Function

Indefinido is used to move a story forward:

• Llegué, hablé con él y salí.

Each verb marks a completed step.

Common Mistakes

• Missing accents → *hable* ❌ instead of hablé
• Mixing endings → *hablasteis* vs *hablaron*
• Confusing with present → hablamos (context required)

Pattern Recognition

All regular -AR verbs follow the same endings:

Cognitive Model

Present = open, ongoing Indefinido = closed, completed

Summary

1. Used for finished past actions 2. Requires closed time reference 3. Regular -AR endings are consistent 4. Accents are essential

This is the foundation of past narration in Spanish.