Term in Spanish: préterito indefinido

Also Known As: preterit, simple past

Examples in Spanish: Cantó. Escribió la carta. Conocí a Eva.

Equivalent examples in English: He sang. She wrote the letter. I met Eva. (Note that conocer, as in the Spanish example above, can mean "to know" or "to meet." The translation of "met" is used because the use of the preterite indicates an event that happened at a specific time.)

Related Resources:

Choice of Preterite or Imperfect Can Modify Verb's Meaning
The translated meanings of some verbs change depending on whether they are used in the perfect or the preterite.

The Preterite and the Imperfect: A Quiz
Take this online quiz and find out how much you know about these two tenses.

The Two Past Tenses of Spanish
Spanish has two past tenses, one generally used to refer to action that has been completed or occurred at a specific time, the other to refer to action that was continuous or happened repeatedly.

Looking to the Past
A lesson for beginners explains the difference between the imperfect and the preterite.

Conjugation of the Preterite
Learn how the preterite tense is conjugated.