The preterite is the past tense Spanish uses to present an action as finished, with a defined beginning and end. Whenever you want to report a past event as a closed, completed fact, the preterite is the tool.
The core idea: bounded events
A bounded action is one you can draw a box around. It started, it ended, and you are reporting it as a whole unit. This contrasts with the imperfect, which presents actions as open-ended or ongoing in the past.
Ayer comí pizza.
Yesterday I ate pizza.
The eating had a clear beginning and end. You can picture the whole event, wrapped up.
Ella terminó el libro en dos días.
She finished the book in two days.
The reading is done. The two-day duration is explicitly bounded.
Single events
Use the preterite for one-time actions, even short ones.
Me caí en la escalera.
I fell on the stairs.
Sonó el teléfono a las tres.
The phone rang at three.
These events happened at a specific moment and are presented as complete.
Events with a defined duration
Even long actions go in the preterite if they are bounded — that is, if the sentence gives them a start and an end.
Viví en Buenos Aires durante cinco años.
I lived in Buenos Aires for five years.
Five years is a long time, but the sentence tells us the period began and ended. The whole five-year stretch is treated as a completed unit.
Trabajamos desde las ocho hasta las seis.
We worked from eight until six.
Actions that happen one after another
When events follow each other in sequence, the preterite marks each one as a discrete step.
Entré, me senté y pedí un café.
I came in, sat down, and ordered a coffee.
Three clean events, each complete, each followed by the next. This is the natural rhythm of preterite narration.
Specific number of occurrences
If a sentence tells you exactly how many times something happened, the event is bounded — use the preterite.
Fui al gimnasio tres veces la semana pasada.
I went to the gym three times last week.
La llamé dos veces, pero no contestó.
I called her twice, but she didn't answer.
The count closes the event off: it happened exactly that many times, no more.
Contrast with the imperfect
The imperfect presents past actions as ongoing, habitual, or as background description, without marking them as complete. The same underlying event can sometimes be expressed either way, depending on how you want to frame it.
| Preterite (completed) | Imperfect (ongoing / habitual) |
|---|---|
| Ayer comí pizza. | De niño, comía pizza los viernes. |
| Viví en Lima dos años. | Vivía en Lima cuando la conocí. |
| Fui al parque ayer. | Iba al parque todos los días. |
The preterite versions report finished facts. The imperfect versions describe background, habit, or ongoing situations. The full comparison is covered in the imperfect subgroup — see the imperfect vs. preterite contrast page there once you have met the imperfect.
Triggers that typically signal preterite
Certain time expressions almost always push you toward the preterite because they pin the event to a specific, closed moment or period.
Anoche vimos una película excelente.
Last night we saw an excellent movie.
En 2020 me mudé a otra ciudad.
In 2020 I moved to another city.
For the full list, see Usage: Time Expressions.
Common mistakes
❌ Ayer comía pizza.
Wrong: a single completed event with ayer needs the preterite.
✅ Ayer comí pizza.
Correct: comí for a one-time completed action.
❌ Viví en Lima cuando la conocí.
Wrong: if the living was ongoing background, use the imperfect.
✅ Vivía en Lima cuando la conocí.
Correct: vivía (imperfect) for ongoing state; conocí (preterite) for the event.
❌ De niño, fui al parque todos los días.
Wrong: habitual past actions need the imperfect.
✅ De niño, iba al parque todos los días.
Correct: iba (imperfect) for habits.
Keep this "bounded event" idea in mind as you move through the rest of the preterite usage pages — it is the single thread that ties every other rule together.
Related Topics
- Usage: Sequences and NarrationA2 — The preterite is the engine of Spanish narrative, carrying the storyline forward one completed event at a time.
- Usage: Time ExpressionsA2 — Time markers that reliably trigger the preterite by anchoring an action to a closed moment in the past.
- Verbs That Change Meaning in the PreteriteB2 — A handful of very common verbs take on distinct meanings in the preterite compared to the imperfect.