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LanguagesLas vacaciones y el pretérito24 min★★ difficulty

El pretérito: talking about the past

The preterite describes completed past actions. It is the single biggest step up from Year 7 Spanish.

Part of your national curriculum
  • Grammar and vocabulary: Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied

Lesson overview

What you'll learn in this lesson

Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied

Key learning points

  • • Regular endings
  • • Key irregulars
  • • Time markers

This lesson at a glance

  • 24 minutes
  • 15 parts to scroll through
  • 4 quick checks
  • Marked quiz at the end
  • Gentle pace: short sittings with pauses

Words to know

tensesstructuresconveypresentfuture

Scroll down — the lesson carries on below

Part 1 of 15 · Discover7%
1

Watch & discover

Part 1 of 15

Watch first

El pretérito: talking about the past

An English teaching video on this topic from Spanish Class. Watch it, then scroll down for the lesson.

In a nutshell

Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied

2

Learning cycle

Part 2 of 15

Learning cycle 1 of 2

Part 1 · Regular endings

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

3

Explore the idea

Part 3 of 15

Learn

Regular endings

-ar verbs: hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron. -er and -ir verbs share endings: comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron. The accents on the first and third person singular are not decoration — hablo (I speak) and habló (he spoke) differ only by that mark.

4

Explore the idea

Part 4 of 15

Learn

Key irregulars

ir and ser share the same preterite: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. Context decides which. hacer: hice, hiciste, hizo. tener: tuve, tuviste, tuvo. estar: estuve, estuviste, estuvo.

5

Quick check

Part 5 of 15

Quick check

What is 'yo' form of hablar in the preterite?

6

Quick check

Part 6 of 15

Quick check

Which two verbs share a preterite?

7

Reset break

Part 7 of 15

Pause

That's sitting 1 of 2 done

Stretch, get a drink, look out of the window. There is no timer and nothing is counting down — your place is saved, so you can come back in five minutes or tomorrow.

Stop here for now
8

Learning cycle

Part 8 of 15

Learning cycle 2 of 2

Part 2 · Time markers

A short piece of teaching, then a check to make sure it has landed.

9

Explore the idea

Part 9 of 15

Learn

Time markers

el año pasado, la semana pasada, ayer, hace dos años, en agosto. Starting a sentence with one of these signals the tense before the verb arrives, which helps a reader and helps you.

10

Quick check

Part 10 of 15

Quick check

What is the preterite of 'hacer' for él?

11

Quick check

Part 11 of 15

Quick check

Why do time markers help?

12

Explore the idea

Part 12 of 15

Worked example

Worked example: converting present to past

'Voy a España, visito a mi abuela y comemos paella.' → 'El verano pasado fui a España, visité a mi abuela y comimos paella.' Note fui (ir), visité (regular -ar with an accent), and comimos, which is identical in present and preterite for -ir/-er verbs — the time marker does the disambiguating.

13

Challenge round

Part 13 of 15

Game · Sort it

Which of these are true?

Drag each card into the right column. Tap a card first if dragging is fiddly.

True

Not true

14

Mastery quiz

Part 14 of 15

Marked quiz

End of lesson quiz: El pretérito: talking about the past

4 questions, marked with the reasoning shown. No timer.

  1. 1. What is 'yo' form of hablar in the preterite?

  2. 2. Which two verbs share a preterite?

  3. 3. What is the preterite of 'hacer' for él?

  4. 4. Why do time markers help?

15

Lesson round-up

Part 15 of 15

Lesson round-up

Ready when you are

Quiz score

Not sat

Games

Not played

Points this lesson

0

Best run

0 in a row

Luna: 0 out of 4 on the practice checks. Only if you feel up to it — one more?

Ask Luna

Do the work

Your written work for this lesson

This is the part you'd do in your book at school. Pick the pieces below, write here or on paper, and photograph anything you draw or work out.

Extract

Une journée à Lyon

Samedi matin, je me lève à sept heures et demie. Je prends le petit déjeuner avec ma sœur — du pain, du beurre et un chocolat chaud. Ensuite, nous prenons le bus jusqu'au centre-ville.

J'aime beaucoup Lyon parce qu'il y a un grand marché près du fleuve. Ma sœur préfère les magasins, mais moi, je préfère le marché : c'est moins cher et c'est plus intéressant. À midi, nous mangeons un sandwich au parc.

L'après-midi, il commence à pleuvoir, alors nous rentrons à la maison en tram. Le soir, je fais mes devoirs et je regarde un film avec mes parents.

Original text written for Good Learning Co.

Reading questions

  1. In English, say what the writer does in the morning, at midday and in the evening.
  2. Find the phrases that give an opinion and a reason, and copy them out.
  3. Write 8–10 sentences about your own Saturday, using at least three phrases from the text.

  • Written practice

    Writing

    Write the sentences out in the language, then translate them back into English.

    8–10 sentences

  • Vocabulary page

    Working out

    Copy the new words, cover them, and test yourself. Note the ones you keep missing.

    15 words

Saved as you type.

Part 1 of 15 · Watch & discover

How this is going

  • Not looked at yet

    Identify and use tenses or other structures which convey the present, past and future as appropriate to the language being studied

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