All regular -ar verbs are conjugated in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish using the same pattern.
Learn how to conjugate regular -ar verbs in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish
They keep the stem and replace -ar with the following endings:
| yo | -é |
| tú | -aste |
| él / ella / Ud. |
-ó |
| nosotros / nosotras |
-amos |
| vosotros / vosotras |
-asteis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. |
-aron |
Have a look at this table with examples:
| REGULAR -AR VERBS | CANTAR to sing |
TRABAJAR to work |
HABLAR to talk / to speak |
| yo | canté | trabajé | hablé |
| tú | cantaste |
trabajaste |
hablaste |
|
él / ella/ usted |
cantó | trabajó | habló |
| nosotros / nosotras |
cantamos |
trabajamos | hablamos |
| vosotros/ vosotras |
cantasteis |
trabajasteis |
hablasteis |
| ellos / ellas/ ustedes | cantaron |
trabajaron | hablaron |
Note that all the regular -ar verbs follow the same pattern in El Pretérito Indefinido:
- Remove -ar
- Add the following endings: -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron
Here are some examples to listen to:
You may have noticed that the "nosotros" form of the preterite for regular -ar verbs, e.g. hablar, coincides with the "nosotros" form of the present tense for regular -ar verbs:
Hablamos con María el otro día.
We spoke with Maria the other day. (preterite)
Hablamos con María todos los días.
We speak with Maria every day. (present)
So, it's often necessary to read the context to realize if it's referring to a present or a past action.
See more verbs following this pattern in: List of Spanish regular -ar verbs
See also:
- Conjugate regular -ar verbs in the present tense in Spanish (El Presente)
- Conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Indefinido)
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