Spanish · CEFR Band 1 (A1) · Chapter 34
¿Qué hiciste ayer?What did you do yesterday?
Telling what happened: the first past tense, the pretérito indefinido, for completed actions. Vocabulary: ayer, anoche, anteayer, la semana pasada, el mes pasado, el año pasado, hablar, comer, vivir, comprar, visitar. Key point: regular verbs change the ending. -ar → -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron (hablé, hablaste, habló…). -er / -ir → -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron (comí, comiste, comió…). It is used with past markers: "Ayer comí paella" (yesterday I ate paella), "Anoche hablé con mi madre" (last night I spoke with my mother). English speakers, at first, leave the verb in the present with a past word: "Ayer yo como paella" ✗ → "Ayer comí paella" ✓. Culture: comes in chapter 37.
Dialogue
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Ayer yo como / Ayer comí
- LucíaMike, ¿qué hiciste ayer?Mike, what did you do yesterday?
- MikeAyer yo como paella con María.Yesterday I eat paella with María. (slip: with a past marker the verb goes in the preterite — "Ayer comí paella")
- LucíaCon "ayer", el verbo va en pasado: "Ayer comí paella".With "ayer", the verb goes in the past: "Ayer comí paella".
- MikeAh, sí: ayer comí paella. Y después hablé con María.Ah, yes: yesterday I ate paella. And afterwards I spoke with María.
- Lucía¡Eso es! Comí, hablé, compré: acciones de ayer.That's it! Comí, hablé, compré: yesterday's actions.
- MikeVale. Anoche estudié español dos horas.Okay. Last night I studied Spanish for two hours.
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El fin de semana de Carlos— Carlos's weekend
- LucíaCarlos, ¿qué hiciste el fin de semana?Carlos, what did you do at the weekend?
- CarlosEl sábado visité a mi hermana en Sevilla.On Saturday I visited my sister in Seville.
- Lucía¡Qué bien! ¿Y comisteis juntos?How nice! And did you eat together?
- CarlosSí, comimos en un bar y hablamos toda la tarde.Yes, we ate at a bar and talked all afternoon.
- LucíaEl domingo yo compré un billete para Sevilla también.On Sunday I bought a ticket to Seville too.
- Carlos¡Genial! Entonces la vemos la semana que viene.Great! Then we will see her next week.
Vocabulary
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- ayer
adverbyesterday
- anoche
adverblast night
- anteayer
adverbthe day before yesterday
- la semana pasada
expr.last week
- el mes pasado
expr.last month
- el año pasado
expr.last year
- hablar
verbto talk, to speak
- comer
verbto eat
- vivir
verbto live
- comprar
verbto buy
- visitar
verbto visit
Grammar
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The preterite (regular)
Explanation
To tell a completed action in the past you use the preterite (pretérito indefinido). You drop the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, -ir) and add a new one. -ar verbs (hablar): hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron. -er verbs (comer) and -ir verbs (vivir) share endings: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron; viví, viviste, vivió, vivimos, vivisteis, vivieron. Notice the accent on "yo" and "él/ella": hablé, habló, comí, comió — the stress goes to the end. It is used with markers like ayer, anoche, la semana pasada: "Ayer compré pan" (yesterday I bought bread), "Anoche comimos en casa" (last night we ate at home), "El año pasado visité México" (last year I visited Mexico). Typical mistake: English speakers, when the past is new, leave the verb in the present and only add "ayer": "Ayer yo como paella" ✗ → "Ayer comí paella" ✓. The time marker is not enough: the verb has to be in the past too.
Examples
- Ayer compré fruta en el mercado.Yesterday I bought fruit at the market.
- Anoche comimos en un restaurante.Last night we ate at a restaurant.
- La semana pasada visité a mis abuelos.Last week I visited my grandparents.
- ¿Hablaste con el profesor ayer?Did you talk to the teacher yesterday?
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