Past tenses in Spanish (el pasado)
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Now that you have understood how to conjugate Spanish verbs in the present tense, it’s time to learn more about the different forms - especially the past tenses. In Spanish there are two past tenses more than in English!
Past tense | First person singular | Translation |
Pretérito Perfecto Simple (Indefinido) | comí | I ate |
Pretérito Perfecto compuesto | he comido | I have eaten |
Pretérito Imperfecto | comía | I ate |
Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto | había comido | I had eaten |
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The pretérito perfecto simple in Spanish is similar to our simple past. It is mainly used to to talk about actions that were completed in the past.
To learn more about this tense, its uses, marker words, and irregular conjugations, have a look at our Pretérito perfecto simple page!
The pretérito perfecto compuesto is one of several compound tenses used in Spanish and English. As in English, it is used to indicate that the action may be still going on. It is similar to our present perfect.
To learn more about this tense, its uses, marker words, and irregular conjugations, have a look at our Pretérito perfecto compuesto page!
The Pretérito imperfecto tense is one of the verb tenses used to talk about the past, especially in descriptions and to say what was happening or used to happen.
To learn more about this tense, its uses, marker words, and irregular conjugations, have a look at our Pretérito Imperfecto page!
The pretérito pluscuamperfecto is a verb tense that is used to talk about what had happened or had been true at a point in the past.
To learn more about this tense, its uses, marker words, and irregular conjugations, have a look at our Pretérito Pluscuamperfecto page!
Good luck!
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My name is Alberto and I am 29 years old. I speak Spanish, English, French, German and Italian. As you might have seen, one of my passions is the study of foreign languages. I love learning them, studying them, and keeping permanently in touch with them.
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My name is Quennie Ann Alburo, 24 years of age.
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1 Pretérito perfecto simple (indefinido) in Spanish | We will explain you everything about the spanish pretérito perfecto simple! |
2 Pretérito perfecto compuesto in Spanish | Learn about the present perfect (pretérito perfecto compuesto) in Spanish! |
3 Difference between Pretérito Perfecto and Indefinido | Learn the difference between Pretérito perfecto and Indefinido in Spanish. |
4 Pretérito Imperfecto in Spanish | Learn about the pretérito imperfecto (imperfect tense) in Spanish! |
5 Difference between imperfecto and indefinido | Learn the difference between Imperfecto and Indefinido in Spanish. |
6 Pretérito pluscuamperfecto in Spanish | Learn about the pretérito pluscuamperfecto (pluperfect or past perfect) in Spanish! |