

Verbs with Special Meaning in the Preterite Here are a few examples of sentences using the preterite in Spanish: Spanish The preterite is often used when there is a time phrase indicating when an action happened or how long it lasted. Él/ella/usted pud o ellos/ellas/ustedes pud ieron There is also a set of irregular verbs, all of which use the same endings no matter whether they are AR, ER, or IR verbs. Él/ella/usted viv ió ellos/ellas/ustedes viv ieron Él/ella/usted llam ó ellos/ellas/ustedes llam aron The preterite tense is normally translated to the past simple form in English.Īs a reminder, the Spanish preterite tense has two verb patterns for regular verb conjugations:
Past participle spanish sentence examples series#
It can be used to refer to one action or a series of actions, but there is always emphasis on the action being completed. The preterite tense is used to describe actions that have been completed in the past. These points will be important to keep in mind when translating from Spanish to English.Ī) Translating the Spanish Preterite Tense to English In this section, we will explore how some verbs in Spanish have a special meaning when used in the preterite tense and how the Spanish imperfect tense is not always translated into the past simple in English. Their partner/s will listen to their pronunciation of the past tense verbs, and tell them if they said the final –ed sound correctly.Considering Spanish has two past tenses (the preterite hablé, comí and the imperfect hablaba, comía) for English’s one past tense ( I talked, I ate), it can be much more complicated to translate from English to Spanish using the past tenses than from Spanish to English. Make sure that you have the learners read the words out loud after everyone has corrected their handouts.Įxtension: In pairs or small groups, have the learners generate past tense sentences using the verbs from the handout. In pairs or small groups, have the learners write each of the verbs in the corresponding box on the bottom of the handout.Have the learners copy to verbs into the box at the top of the handout. Write the list of past tense regular verbs on the board that was prepared before class. Give all of the learners a copy of the Pronunciation of Past Tense Regular Verbs handout.If learners are unsure if a consonant is voiced or voiceless, have them lay their fingers on the side of their neck and feel for the vibration that occurs when they say voiced consonants. Write some regular verbs on the board, and have the learners determine if they end in a –d or a –t, a vowel sound, a voiced consonant, or a voiceless consonant.If the verb ends in an unvoiced consonant (p, k, f, gh, sh, ch, ss, c, x), then the –ed ending sounds like a /t/ and does not create a new syllable.If the verb ends in a vowel sound or a voiced consonant (l, n, r, b, g, m, z, s, v), then the –ed ending sounds like a /d/ and does not create a new syllable.If the verb ends in a –d or a –t, the –ed ending is pronounced as a new syllable, /id/.The pronunciation of the –ed ending depends on the final sound in the verb: Explain that in English, there are three different pronunciations of the –ed ending for regular past tense verbs.

You may have to say the verbs very slowly, enunciating the sound of the past tense ending several times. Ask them to tell you what sound they heard for each verb. Have the learners focus on listening to the final sound of each verb. Say the three verbs out loud for the class.One should end in a voiceless consonant (e.g.One should end in a vowel or a voiced consonant (e.g.Write three regular past tense verbs on the board:.Explain to the learners that there are three different ways to pronounce the –ed ending at the end of regular past tense verbs.Watch a great video with a clear explanation. Preparation: Familiarize yourself with the final –ed pronunciation rules for past tense regular verbs. Materials Needed: Class copies of Pronunciation of Past Tense Regular Verbs handout, a list of past tense regular verbs that the learners are familiar with (e.g.

Purpose: To help learners correctly pronounce the final –ed at the end of past tense regular verbs.
