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El año pasado no consiguieron el objetivo.

El año pasado no consiguieron el objetivo.
Last year they did not achieve the objective.
From Lesson 150:Present perfect versus preterite·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about El año pasado no consiguieron el objetivo.

Why do we use the Pretérito Indefinido (consiguieron) here instead of the Pretérito Perfecto (han conseguido)?
The phrase el año pasado (last year) refers to a completely finished timeframe. In Spain, when the timeframe is finished and closed off from the present, you must use the Pretérito Indefinido (consiguieron). You would only use han conseguido for unfinished timeframes, like este año (this year).
Why does consiguieron have an 'i' in the middle instead of an 'e'?
The infinitive verb is conseguir (to achieve/get). In the Pretérito Indefinido, certain '-ir' verbs change their stem vowel from 'e' to 'i' in the 'he/she/it' and 'they' forms. That is why it changes to consiguieron instead of conseguieron.
Why is there a 'u' after the 'g' in consiguieron?
The silent 'u' is there to keep the 'g' sounding hard, like the 'g' in 'go'. In Spanish, a 'g' followed directly by an 'e' or 'i' sounds like an English 'h' (a soft sound). To keep the hard sound from the infinitive conseguir, the 'u' must stay in consiguieron.
Could I translate conseguir as 'to get' instead of 'to achieve'?
Yes! Conseguir is a very common verb that means 'to achieve', 'to obtain', or 'to get'. Since they are talking about el objetivo (the objective), 'achieve' sounds most natural in English, but 'they did not get the objective' means exactly the same thing.

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