Breakdown of El gerente firmó el contrato ayer.
firmar
to sign
ayer
yesterday
el gerente
the manager
el contrato
the contract
Questions & Answers about El gerente firmó el contrato ayer.
Why do we use firmó (Pretérito Indefinido) here instead of the Perfecto (ha firmado)?
The key is the word ayer (yesterday). In Spain, when an action happens in a completely finished time period (like yesterday, last month, or 2020), you must use the Pretérito Indefinido. You only use the Perfecto for unfinished time periods that still connect to the present, like hoy (today) or esta semana (this week).
Why is the accent mark on firmó so important?
It completely changes who is doing the action and when! Firmó with the accent means he, she, or it signed in the past. Without the accent, firmo means I sign right now in the present tense.
The word for manager is el gerente. How would I refer to a female manager?
Can I put ayer at the beginning of the sentence instead?
Yes! You can say Ayer el gerente firmó el contrato. Moving time markers to the beginning of the sentence is very common in Spanish, especially if you want to emphasize exactly when the action took place.
Learn El gerente firmó el contrato ayer and more in Spanish
All course content and exercises are completely free — no paywalls, no trial periods, no signup needed.
- ✓ Practice with interactive exercises
- ✓ Track your progress with spaced repetition
- ✓Learn at your own pace — completely free