The formation of regular verbs in the preterite tense is straightforward. To the stem of the infinitive are added endings, or markers:
Infinitives, stems, and endings*Hablar — Habl-
Comer — Com-
Vivir — Viv-
* Note that the -er and -ir endings are identical. Note also that the 1st person plural forms of -ar and -ir verbs are identical to those of the present tense.
A few examples of regular verbs in the preterite tense are:
-AR verbs
-ER verbs
-IR verbs
The preterite is the narrative past, while the imperfect is the descriptive past. It is sometimes difficult to discern "narrative" from "descriptive," so in order to use these tenses correctly it is helpful to study carefully the speaker's primary intent.
1. The preterite reports past, completed actions, no matter how
long they lasted or how many times they occured, such as:
2. It describes a mental or physical condition in terms of a
past, completed state.
The imperfect
The preterite and the imperfect
contrasted
Verbs