Preterite Tense Conjugation of Regular -ER and -IR Verbs

The preterite tense in Spanish is used to express an action completed at a definite time in the past, equivalent to English simple past tense. For example: I wrote a book. He learned the lessons.

To conjugate -er and -ir verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish, simply drop the -er or -ir and add the following personal endings: -í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.

Here is the preterite tense of the regular -er verb aprender (to learn):

Subject	Verb	Meaning
yo	aprendí	I learnt
tú	aprendiste	you learnt
él ella usted	aprendió	he learnt she learnt you (formal) learnt
nosotros nosotras	aprendimos	we learnt we learnt
vosotros vosotras	aprendisteis	you (plural) learnt you (plural) learnt
ellos ellas ustedes	aprendieron	they learnt they learnt you (formal, plural) learnt

Here is the preterite tense of the regular -ir verb escribir (to write):

Subject	Verb	Meaning
yo	escribí	I wrote
tú	escribiste	you wrote
él ella usted	escribió	he wrote she wrote you (formal) wrote
nosotros nosotras	escribimos	we wrote we wrote
vosotros vosotras	escribisteis	you (plural) wrote you (plural) wrote
ellos ellas ustedes	escribieron	they wrote they wrote you (formal, plural) wrote

Note that the endings for nosotros/nosotras in the preterite tense are the same as those used in the present tense.

Here are some examples of regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite tense:

Yo comí en un restaurante peruano. - I ate in a Peruvian restaurant.
Tú recibiste una carta. - You received a letter.
Él escribió un libro. - He wrote a book.
Nosotros vendimos la mesa. - We sold the table.
Vosotros vivisteis en Miami. - You (plural) lived in Miami.
Las muchachas aprendieron las palabras. - The girls learned the words.

Preterite Tense Conjugation of Regular -ER and -IR Verbs

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