How to use The pretérito indefinido of regular verbs ending in -er and -ir in Spanish

Learn how to use The pretérito indefinido of regular verbs ending in -er and -ir, and what to use it for in Spanish.
Test your Spanish level for free today with Hotel Borbollón.

TEST YOUR SPANISH Free trial and no commitment to buy
4,6 on App Store, Play Store and Trustpilot
More than 7 million users

The pretérito indefinido of regular verbs ending in -er and -ir

The pretérito indefinido (simple past tense) is used with actions that started and ended in the past.

El año pasado corrí una maratón en Madrid.

Last year I ran a marathon in Madrid.

Verbs ending in -er, such as comer (to eat), saber (to know); and in -ir, such as vivir (to live) or subir (to climb), are conjugated like this:

Comer en
Yo comí
Tú comiste
Él/ella/usted comió
Nosotros/as comimos
Vosotros/as comisteis
Ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron
Vivir en
Yo viví
Tú viviste
Él/ella/usted vivió
Nosotros/as vivimos
Vosotros/as vivisteis
Ellos/ellas/ustedes vivieron

Anoche comimos en el restaurante de Carolina.

Last night we ate at Carolina’s restaurant.

Ana vivió en Buenos Aires durante muchos años.

Ana lived in Buenos Aires for many years.

Note: some verbs, such as ver (to see), have a regular conjugation in the simple past, apart from the fact that they have no tilde (accent):

Vi una película muy buena. ver, pret. indefinido

I saw a very good film.


Still facing difficulties with 'The pretérito indefinido of regular verbs ending in -er and -ir'? Learn and enhance your Spanish grammar through our online Spanish course. Start with a free test and improve today!

TEST YOUR SPANISH

What our users say:

Pleasure

         

I enjoy doing my online Spanish lessons. Only ten minutes daily are enough...Thank you!

Innovative

         

I love your innovative method which allows me to learn a new language and have fun at the same time!

Unique

         

Your method is unique! Your courses have helped me to progress and gain confidence during my travels.

Progress

         

Gymglish has allowed me to improve my Spanish. A daily routine I wouldn't miss for anything in the world!

More testimonials.

Improve your Spanish further and test Hotel Borbollón, online Spanish lessons.