Lingvero

Spanish Preterite Tense Practice

The past tense for completed actions. Drill regular endings, the spelling tweaks, and the irregular stems with 28 sentences and instant explanations.

•28 exercises•~9 min to complete•B1 – B2 level
IRead first

The rule, in plain English.

The preterite (pretérito indefinido) is the Spanish past tense for actions that are finished and viewed as a single completed event — what happened, what someone did.

Regular verbs take a fixed set of endings; a group of common verbs use irregular stems with their own special endings; and a few have spelling changes to keep the sound consistent.

28 exercises below. Read the explanation after each answer — that's where the rule sinks in.

IIQuick reference
Regular endingscompleted = one closed box
01
-ar verbs (hablar)
hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron
02
-er / -ir verbs (comer)
comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron
03
Accent on yo & él
hablé, habló — the stress is on the last syllable
04
Signals: completed time
ayer, anoche, el lunes, en 2020, de repente
05
One finished event
Ayer comí paella en un restaurante.
Irregulars & changesnew stem + no accents
01
Irregular stems (tener)
tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvieron
02
Same endings: -e, -iste, -o...
estar → estuve; poder → pude; hacer → hice
03
Ser & ir share forms
fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron
04
Spelling change (yo)
buscar → busqué; llegar → llegué; empezar → empecé
05
i→y in 3rd person
leer → leyó/leyeron; caer → cayó
IIIPractice exercises

Practice.

Answer first, then read the explanation. Don't skip it — that's the whole point.

Exercise 01 of 28Tag: Regular -ar
Fill in the blank

Ayer yo _____ con mi madre por teléfono. (hablar)

Yesterday I talked with my mother on the phone.

Exercise 02 of 28Tag: Regular -er
Fill in the blank

Anoche nosotros _____ en un restaurante italiano. (comer)

Last night we ate at an Italian restaurant.

Exercise 03 of 28Tag: Regular -ir
Fill in the blank

El año pasado ellos _____ en Sevilla. (vivir)

Last year they lived in Seville.

Exercise 04 of 28Tag: Regular -ar
Fill in the blank

¿_____ tú la película anoche? (terminar)

Did you finish the film last night?

Exercise 05 of 28Tag: Regular -er
Fill in the blank

Ella _____ la respuesta en internet. (aprender)

She learned the answer on the internet.

Exercise 06 of 28Tag: Irregular: ir / ser
Fill in the blank

El verano pasado yo _____ a Portugal de vacaciones. (ir)

Last summer I went to Portugal on holiday.

Exercise 07 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: tener
Fill in the blank

Ayer nosotros _____ un problema con el coche. (tener)

Yesterday we had a problem with the car.

Exercise 08 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: estar
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ en casa toda la tarde. (estar)

I was at home all afternoon.

Exercise 09 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: hacer
Fill in the blank

¿Qué _____ tú el fin de semana pasado? (hacer)

What did you do last weekend?

Exercise 10 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: poder
Fill in the blank

Lo siento, no _____ venir a la fiesta. (poder)

I'm sorry, I couldn't come to the party.

Exercise 11 of 28Tag: Spelling change (yo)
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ las llaves por toda la casa. (buscar)

I looked for the keys all over the house.

Exercise 12 of 28Tag: Spelling change (yo)
Fill in the blank

Anoche yo _____ tarde a casa. (llegar)

Last night I got home late.

Exercise 13 of 28Tag: Spelling change (yo)
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ a trabajar a las nueve. (empezar)

I started working at nine.

Exercise 14 of 28Tag: i→y (3rd person)
Fill in the blank

Mi abuela _____ el periódico esta mañana. (leer)

My grandmother read the newspaper this morning.

Exercise 15 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: decir
Fill in the blank

Ellos me _____ toda la verdad. (decir)

They told me the whole truth.

Exercise 16 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: venir
Fill in the blank

Mis primos _____ a visitarnos el domingo. (venir)

My cousins came to visit us on Sunday.

Exercise 17 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: poner
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ las flores en la mesa. (poner)

I put the flowers on the table.

Exercise 18 of 28Tag: Regular -ir
Fill in the blank

El camarero nos _____ la cuenta. (escribir)

The waiter wrote us the bill.

Exercise 19 of 28Tag: Stem change (-ir only)
Fill in the blank

Ella _____ pollo y yo pedí pescado. (pedir)

She ordered chicken and I ordered fish.

Exercise 20 of 28Tag: Stem change (-ir only)
Fill in the blank

Los niños _____ diez horas anoche. (dormir)

The children slept ten hours last night.

Exercise 21 of 28Tag: Irregular: ser
Fill in the blank

La fiesta _____ un éxito total. (ser)

The party was a complete success.

Exercise 22 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: querer
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ ayudar, pero no me dejaron. (querer)

I wanted (tried) to help, but they didn't let me.

Exercise 23 of 28Tag: Irregular: dar
Fill in the blank

Mis padres me _____ un regalo precioso. (dar)

My parents gave me a beautiful present.

Exercise 24 of 28Tag: Choose the form
Choose the correct sentence

Which is the correct preterite of hacer for él (he did/made)?

Pick the 'he did' form.

Exercise 25 of 28Tag: Spotting errors
Choose the correct sentence

Which preterite form is wrong?

Spot the wrong preterite form.

Exercise 26 of 28Tag: Regular -ar
Fill in the blank

El concierto _____ a las nueve de la noche. (empezar)

The concert started at nine at night.

Exercise 27 of 28Tag: Irregular stem: saber
Fill in the blank

Yo _____ la noticia esta mañana. (saber)

I found out the news this morning.

Exercise 28 of 28Tag: Spotting errors
Choose the correct sentence

Which sentence has a preterite error?

Find the sentence with the wrong verb form.

Every answer is explained

Not just a green check. A short paragraph telling you why.

No gamification

No streaks, no points, no leaderboards. Just questions.

No signup

Runs in your browser. Bookmark the topics you want to come back to.

More to practice

Other topics.

01 · B1 – B2

Preterite vs Imperfect Practice

Once you know both past tenses, this is where you learn which one to pick.

30 exercisesPractice →
02 · B1 – B2

Imperfect Tense Practice

The other past tense — for habits, descriptions, and background.

25 exercisesPractice →
03 · A1 – A2

Present Tense Practice

Solidify the present before and after working on the past.

30 exercisesPractice →
Coming soon

Also planned in this category.

Not live yet. Working through the catalog one topic at a time.

  • Conditional TenseSoonB125 ex.
  • Present PerfectSoonB120 ex.
  • Present ProgressiveSoonA220 ex.
  • Imperfect SubjunctiveSoonB225 ex.
Questions answered

Common questions.

How do you form the preterite in Spanish?+

For regular -ar verbs add -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron. For regular -er and -ir verbs add -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. The yo and él/ella forms carry a written accent.

When do you use the preterite instead of the imperfect?+

Use the preterite for completed actions seen as a single event — what happened, with a clear beginning or end (Ayer comí paella). Use the imperfect for ongoing background, habits, and descriptions in the past (Comía paella todos los domingos).

What are the most common irregular preterite verbs?+

The big ones share special stems and unaccented endings: ser/ir (fui), estar (estuve), tener (tuve), hacer (hice), poder (pude), poner (puse), querer (quise), venir (vine), decir (dije), and saber (supe).

Why does buscar become busqué?+

Verbs ending in -car, -gar and -zar change spelling in the yo form to preserve their sound: -car → -qué (busqué), -gar → -gué (llegué), -zar → -cé (empecé). The change only affects the yo form.

What does the preterite of saber and querer mean?+

Some verbs shift meaning in the preterite. Supe means I found out (not I knew), quise means I tried, no quise means I refused, and pude means I managed to. The imperfect keeps the ongoing-state meaning.

Are these preterite exercises free?+

Yes. All 28 exercises run in your browser, need no signup, and explain every answer.