The indefinite past tense in Spanish, also called simple past tense, is an indicative tense used to indicate actions that have already been completed in the past.
For this reason, it is common to find temporal markers that indicate actions that ended in the past, such as: ayer, anteayer, last week, past month, past year, etc.
Examples of sentences with the indefinite past tense:
- Ayer, nosotras we talked with the teacher on la prueba. (Yesterday, we talked to the teacher about the exam)
- Ustedes siton muy about the speaker. (You sat very close to the speaker)
- yo baby mucho en la fiesta de anteayer. (I drank a lot at the party the day before yesterday)
- hel vivió all life con su madre. (He lived his whole life with his mother)
- Ellos dijeron that the scene is very good. (They said the dinner was very good)
Conjugation of verbs in the indefinite past tense
As in the Portuguese language, verbs have three types of conjugation:
- 1st conjugation: verbs ending in -ar
- 2nd conjugation: verbs ending in -er
- 3rd conjugation: verbs ending in -ir
Check below regular verbs of the three conjugated endings in the simple past perfect:
1. Conjugation of the verb hablar (to speak) - 1st conjugation
yo hable
you hablast
he/she/usted habló
nosotros/nosotras hablamos
hablasteis vosotros/vosotras
ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron
2. Conjugation of the verb to eat (to eat) - 2nd conjugation
yo ate
you committed
is he/she/usted eat
nosotros/nosotras we ate
you/you commit
ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron
3. Conjugation of the verb Partir (to leave) - 3rd conjugation
yo left
you left
he/she/usted partition
nosotros/nosotras we leave
you partistis
ellos/ellas/ustedes partieron
regular verbs x irregular verbs
It is worth remembering that regular verbs have a fixed conjugation model and do not undergo changes in stems and verb endings. Irregulars, on the other hand, undergo changes in the radical and in endings.
For a better understanding, let's see below some examples of conjugation of irregular verbs in the indefinite past tense in Spanish.
1. Conjugation of the verb jugar (to play) - 1st conjugation
yo jugue
you tried
he/she/usted jugó
nosotros/nosotras jugamos
you/you jugastile
ellos/ellas/ustedes jugaron
2. Conjugation of the verb poner (put) - 2nd conjugation
yo put
you did
he/she/usted I put
nosotros/nosotras we put
you pusistis
ellos/ellas/ustedes pusieron
3. Conjugation of the verb decir (say) - 3rd conjugation
yo say
you said
he/she/usted dijo
nosotros/nosotras dijimos
you/you dijisteis
ellos/ellas/ustedes dijeron
Past perfect simple x past perfect composite
The perfect past tense composed of the indicative is a tense used to indicate past actions that have already occurred, however, which last until the present.
Its formation is made with the auxiliary verb “haver” conjugated in the present tense + participle of the main verb.
Example: You have lived my whole life with my priests. (I have lived my whole life with my parents)
Check below three verbs conjugated in the perfect past tense composed of the indicative:
1. Conjugation of the verb to be (to be) - 1st conjugation
yo he state
you have been
is he/she/used ha been
nosotros / nosotras hemos state
you/you skillful state
yours/theirs/ustedes han state
2. Conjugation of the verb tener (ter) - 2nd conjugation
yo he had
you have had
he/she/it/has been
nosotros/nosotras hemos tenido
you/you skillful tenido
ellos/ them/ustedes han tenido
3. Conjugation of the verb escribir (to write) - 3rd conjugation
yo he written
you have written
is she/he/she has written
nosotros/nosotras hemos written
you/you skillful writing
ellos/they/ustedes han written
Keep studying about the topic:
- Spanish verbs
- regular verbs in spanish
- Irregular Spanish Verbs
- 20 most used verbs in Spanish
- Spanish verbs exercises
