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Spanish (Spain)

### The preterite tense

To talk about completed actions in the finished past, use the preterite tense (**el pretérito indefinido**). It is the equivalent of the simple past tense in English (like "I spoke" or "he sent"). You will frequently use it with time markers like **ayer** (yesterday).

To form the preterite of a regular **-ar** verb, drop the **-ar** ending from the infinitive and add the appropriate past tense endings. 

### The *yo* form (-é)

To say that *you* (I) did something, drop the **-ar** and add **-é**. 

The accent mark on the **é** is absolutely essential—it tells the listener that the action happened in the past and puts the vocal stress on the final syllable.

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### The *él/ella/usted* form (-ó)

To say that *he*, *she*, or *you (formal)* did something, drop the **-ar** and add **-ó**. 

Again, the accent mark on the **ó** is critical. Without it, a word like **mandó** (he/she sent) becomes **mando** (I send).

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### Contrasting the subjects

When running errands, like filling out forms or mailing packages, pay close attention to whether the ending is **-é** or **-ó** to know exactly who performed the action.

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The preterite tense of -ar verbs (-é, -ó)

adjective

adverb

conjunction

contraction

determiner

interjection

noun

numeral

preposition

pronoun

sentence

verb

Singular subjects and 'ser' (yo soy, esto es)

Plural nouns and definite articles (los, las)

Plural pronouns and 'ser' (somos, sois, son)

Adjective agreement (-o, -a, -os, -as)

Indefinite articles (un, una, unos, unas)

Simple negation (no)

Yes/no questions

Regular '-ar' verbs (-o, -as, -a...)

Regular '-er' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Regular '-ir' verbs (-o, -es, -e...)

Locative adverbs (aquí, allí)

Question words (quién, cómo)

The verb estar (estoy, estás)

The preposition en (en)

Ser vs. estar

The verb tener (tengo, tienes)

Possessive determiners (mi, tu, su)

Origin and possession (de, del)

The verb ir (voy, vas)

Destination (a, al)

The personal 'a' (a)

Stem-changing verbs: e to ie

Stem-changing verbs: o to ue

Irregular first-person verbs

Reflexive verbs (me, te, se)

Numbers 1 to 10 (uno, dos, tres)

Numbers 11 to 20 (once, doce, trece)

Counting by tens to 100 (treinta, cuarenta, cien)

Compound numbers up to 99 (veintiuno, treinta y uno)

Days of the week (el lunes, el martes)

The family and the personal 'a' (a mi tío, a mi prima)

Months of the year

Telling time (es la, son las)

Verbs of liking (me gusta)

Plural agreement with verbs of liking (gustan)

Degree modifiers (muy, mucho)

Formal address (usted, ustedes)

Direct object pronouns (lo, la, los, las)

The near future (ir a)

Obligation (tener que)

Present continuous (-ando, -iendo)

Affirmative commands (tú, vosotros)

Basic Food and Drink

The Human Body: Head and Arms

The Human Body: Legs and Health

Wardrobe Essentials

Fresh Produce

Meals and Proteins

Public Transport

Hello and goodbye (hola, ¿qué tal?)

Thank you, sorry, OK (gracias, vale)

There is, there are (hay)

My building (la escalera, el ascensor)

Describing people (moreno, rubio, tímido)

Land and sea (el mar, el río, el norte)

Sightseeing (la plaza, la catedral)

Asking the way (cerca, a la derecha, todo recto)

In class (¿puedes repetir?)

Verb + infinitive (quiero comer, sé leer)

What's your name? (me llamo, encantado)

Phone, computer and email

Hundreds and thousands (doscientos, mil)

What do you do? (¿a qué te dedicas?)

Personal details (la edad, la fecha de nacimiento)

Me neither (también, tampoco, ni)

How much is it? (el precio, la vuelta)

What's the weather like? (hace sol, nieva)

Free time (el concierto, el tenis)

At the bar (¿qué vas a tomar?)

The Natural World

Demonstratives (este, ese, aquel)

Prepositions of place (encima de, debajo de)

Prepositional pronouns (para mí, contigo)

Ordinal numbers 1st to 10th (primero to décimo)

Adverbs of frequency (a veces, nunca)

Exclamations (¡qué...!)

Indefinite pronouns (algo, alguien)

Indefinite determiners (algún, ningún)

Indirect object pronouns (le, les)

Double object pronouns (me lo, te la)

Double object pronouns (se lo, se la)

Verbs of preference (encantar, interesar)

Impersonal obligation (hay que)

Starting and finishing actions (empezar a, terminar de)

Adjective comparatives (más que, menos que)

Comparatives of equality (tan como)

Noun comparatives (tanto como)

Question	Answer
yesterday	ayer
the employee	el empleado
Yesterday I spoke with the employee.	Ayer hablé con el empleado.
the envelope	el sobre
I bought a white envelope.	Compré un sobre blanco.
to send	mandar
What did the girl send?	¿Qué mandó la chica?
to weigh	pesar
The boy weighed the envelope.	El chico pesó el sobre.
I weighed the red suitcase.	Pesé la maleta roja.
the counter	el mostrador
She waited at the counter.	Ella esperó en el mostrador.
I left the package on the counter for the employee.	Dejé el paquete en el mostrador para la empleada.
the form	el formulario
He prepared the blue form.	Él preparó el formulario azul.
to fill out	rellenar
I filled out the form with my pen.	Rellené el formulario con mi bolígrafo.
My father filled out the document.	Mi padre rellenó el documento.
to stamp	sellar
The employee stamped the envelope.	El empleado selló el sobre.
I stamped the letter and sent it.	Sellé la carta y la mandé.
the mailbox	el buzón
I walked to the green mailbox.	Caminé al buzón verde.
She did not find the mailbox yesterday.	Ella no encontró el buzón ayer.
the mail carrier, the postman	el cartero
The mail carrier arrived late yesterday.	El cartero llegó tarde ayer.
The mail carrier left the letters in the mailbox.	El cartero dejó las cartas en el buzón.

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