The preterite of -er and -ir verbs
To talk about completed past events, such as life milestones from last year, you will use the preterite tense. You already learned how to form this tense for -ar verbs.
For regular -er and -ir verbs, forming the preterite is even easier because both verb groups share the exact same set of endings. Drop the -er or -ir from the infinitive and add these endings:
| Subject | Ending | Example: crecer (to grow) | Example: decidir (to decide) |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | -í | crecí | decidí |
| tú | -iste | creciste | decidiste |
| él/ella/usted | -ió | creció | decidió |
| nosotros/nosotras | -imos | crecimos | decidimos |
| vosotros/vosotras | -isteis | crecisteis | decidisteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | -ieron | crecieron | decidieron |
The yo and él/ella/usted forms
Just like with -ar verbs, the yo and él/ella/usted forms carry a mandatory written accent on the final letter. The yo ending is -í, and the él/ella/usted ending is -ió. These accents indicate that the action is in the past and shift the vocal stress to the final syllable.
| I was born in Spain, but I grew up in France. | Nací en España, pero crecí en Francia. |
| In what year was your grandfather born? | ¿En qué año nació tu abuelo? |
| My niece grew a lot last year. | Mi sobrina creció mucho el año pasado. |
| Yesterday I decided to sell my car. | Ayer decidí vender mi coche. |
| Yesterday, he discovered a very cheap restaurant in the center. | Ayer él descubrió un restaurante muy barato en el centro. |
The nosotros form and past context
The nosotros/nosotras ending is -imos. For -er verbs, this is different from the present tense (e.g., crecimos vs. crecemos). However, for -ir verbs, the present and preterite forms are identical (decidimos can mean "we decide" or "we decided"). You will rely on time markers like el año pasado (last year) or ayer (yesterday) to know if the action happened in the past.
| past | pasado |
| We grew up in a very pretty village. | Crecimos en un pueblo muy bonito. |
| We decided to start a degree at the university. | Decidimos empezar una carrera en la universidad. |
Using the other forms
For the remaining subjects, simply apply the -iste, -isteis, and -ieron endings. Notice that none of these forms require an accent mark.
| Last year, they decided to travel to Spain. | El año pasado, ellas decidieron viajar a España. |
| You promised to visit grandmother in the hospital. | Prometisteis visitar a la abuela en el hospital. |
| Why didn't you respond to my message yesterday? | ¿Por qué no respondiste a mi mensaje ayer? |
