Spanish verbs ending in -ar follow a predictable pattern in the preterite tense. Learning these endings will allow you to describe completed actions in the past using regular verbs. In this module, you will learn how to conjugate -ar verbs in the preterite.
The endings for -ar verbs in the preterite are:
é
aste
ó
amos
aron
Example:
hablar → hablé
Sample Sentences
Yo hablé con el cliente. – I spoke with the client.
Ella estudió español. – She studied Spanish.
Nosotros caminamos por la ciudad. – We walked through the city.
Él compró comida. – He bought food.
Ellos trabajaron mucho. – They worked a lot.
Remove -ar and add the preterite endings.
Sample Sentences
Yo viajé a Guatemala. – I traveled to Guatemala.
Ella preparó la cena. – She prepared dinner.
Nosotros visitamos el mercado. – We visited the market.
Él llamó a su amigo. – He called his friend.
Ellos exploraron la ciudad. – They explored the city.
Many everyday verbs follow this pattern.
Sample Sentences
Yo trabajé ayer. – I worked yesterday.
Ella ayudó al turista. – She helped the tourist.
Nosotros estudiamos juntos. – We studied together.
Él compró un boleto. – He bought a ticket.
Ellos viajaron el mes pasado. – They traveled last month.
Preterite verbs often appear with time expressions.
Sample Sentences
Yo estudié anoche. – I studied last night.
Ella trabajó ayer. – She worked yesterday.
Nosotros caminamos esta mañana. – We walked this morning.
Él habló con el cliente ayer. – He spoke with the client yesterday.
Ellos visitaron el museo ayer. – They visited the museum yesterday.
Regular verbs make it easy to talk about past events.
Sample Sentences
Yo preparé la comida. – I prepared the food.
Ella escuchó música. – She listened to music.
Nosotros viajamos juntos. – We traveled together.
Él explicó la lección. – He explained the lesson.
Ellos trabajaron en equipo. – They worked as a team.
In this module, you learned how to form the preterite tense for regular -ar verbs. You saw that these verbs follow a predictable pattern using the endings é, aste, ó, amos, aron. By removing the -ar ending and adding these forms, you can easily describe completed actions in the past. Mastering these regular patterns allows you to talk about past events such as things you studied, places you visited, or activities you completed. These verbs form the foundation for discussing past experiences in Spanish conversations.