Usage: Time Expressions | Spanish (Latin America) Grammar

Certain time expressions are such reliable signals of a completed, bounded event that they almost always trigger the preterite. When you see or say them, your brain should already be reaching for a preterite form.

Why time markers matter

The preterite's whole job is to mark events as closed. A time expression that points to a specific moment or a clearly ended period in the past does exactly that work for you — it closes the event off. That is why these words and phrases and the preterite are such a natural fit.

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A useful mental test: can I point at the time on a calendar or clock? If yes, preterite is almost always right. Ayer, el lunes, en 1995 — you can point to all of those. A veces or todos los días — you cannot, and those push you toward the imperfect instead.

The core list

Spanish	English
ayer	yesterday
anteayer	the day before yesterday
anoche	last night
esta mañana	this morning
el lunes pasado	last Monday
la semana pasada	last week
el mes pasado	last month
el año pasado	last year
hace dos días	two days ago
hace un rato	a little while ago
en 1995	in 1995
el otro día	the other day
de repente	suddenly
de pronto	suddenly, all of a sudden
un día	one day
una vez	once, one time
entonces	then, at that moment

Examples in context

Ayer fui al mercado con mi abuela.

Yesterday I went to the market with my grandmother.

Anoche dormí ocho horas seguidas.

Last night I slept eight hours straight.

La semana pasada visitamos a nuestros primos en Guadalajara.

Last week we visited our cousins in Guadalajara.

Hace dos días recibí una carta muy extraña.

Two days ago I received a very strange letter.

En 1995 mis padres se mudaron a Buenos Aires.

In 1995 my parents moved to Buenos Aires.

Every time expression in the examples above pins the action down — to yesterday, to last night, to 1995. The action is over, the moment is defined, and the preterite is the natural choice.

"De repente" and narrative jolts

De repente and de pronto are special: they signal a sudden, punctual event that breaks into an ongoing scene. They almost always appear with the preterite, and often team up with an imperfect verb in the surrounding sentence.

Estábamos cenando cuando de repente se fue la luz.

We were having dinner when suddenly the power went out.

De pronto, alguien gritó desde la cocina.

Suddenly, someone shouted from the kitchen.

The imperfect (estábamos) paints the background; de repente plus preterite (se fue, gritó) delivers the jolt that changes the scene.

"Una vez" and "un día" — story openers

These two phrases are story-opener classics, the Spanish equivalent of one day or once.

Una vez vi una estrella fugaz sobre el desierto.

Once I saw a shooting star over the desert.

Un día mi abuelo me llevó a pescar por primera vez.

One day my grandfather took me fishing for the first time.

They open a narrative by immediately locating it at a specific (if unspecified) point in the past — exactly what the preterite likes.

Hace + time

The pattern hace + time ("... ago") is so useful it gets its own page. See Hace + Time + Que (Ago Expressions) for both word orders and more examples.

Conocí a María hace tres años.

I met María three years ago.

Counting occurrences

Any phrase that tells you exactly how many times something happened also signals a bounded, countable event.

Fui a ese restaurante dos veces el mes pasado.

I went to that restaurant twice last month.

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Watch out for de repente and de pronto on exams: they look like simple connectors, but they are reliable preterite triggers. If you see either, the following verb is almost certainly preterite.

Common mistakes

❌ Ayer iba al mercado con mi abuela.

Wrong: ayer signals a one-time completed event, not a habit.

✅ Ayer fui al mercado con mi abuela.

Correct: fui (preterite) for a completed single event.

❌ En 2020 me mudé... siempre vivía allí.

Wrong if the period is bounded — use preterite for closed periods.

✅ En 2020 me mudé y viví allí dos años.

Correct: viví (preterite) for a bounded two-year period.

❌ De repente empezaba a llover.

Wrong: de repente signals a sudden event, which needs the preterite.

✅ De repente empezó a llover.

Correct: empezó (preterite) for the sudden onset.

Keep this list close while you are still developing a feel for the preterite — these time markers are some of the most dependable signposts Spanish gives you.