Lesson 13A1 Beginner
El Pasado Simple
Wordplay A1 Spanish Course
Lesson 13 · A1 Level · 60 min · English → Spanish
Say it, then make it yours: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Follow with your own answer: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
What We'll Cover Today
- Time Expressions (Past)~5 min
- Pretérito: Regular -AR / -ER / -IR~15 min
- Spelling Changes (car, gar, zar)~10 min
- IR and SER in the past (Fui)~10 min
- Practice & Conversation~10 min
- Review Quiz~10 min
Expresiones de Tiempo (Past)
Click to see the English translations.
ayer[yesterday]
anoche[last night]
el año pasado[last year]
el mes pasado[last month]
la semana pasada[last week]
hace dos días[two days ago]
Pretérito: Verbos -AR (Hablar)
How to conjugate regular -AR verbs in the past. Pay attention to the accents!
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| yo hablé | I spoke |
| tú hablaste | you spoke |
| él / ella / usted habló | he / she / you (form.) spoke |
| nosotros / nosotras hablamos | we spoke (Same as present!) |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes hablaron | they / you all spoke |
Pretérito: Verbos -ER / -IR (Comer)
Regular -ER and -IR verbs share the same endings in the past.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| yo comí | I ate |
| tú comiste | you ate |
| él / ella / usted comió | he / she / you (form.) ate |
| nosotros / nosotras comimos | we ate |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes comieron | they / you all ate |
Spot the Mistake
Click the incorrect word:
Ayer,
yo
hablo
con
mi
madre.
Because of 'Ayer' (yesterday), we need the past tense 'hablé'. 'Hablo' is present tense.
Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Now say or write your own answer to: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
Spelling Changes (Yo form)
For verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar, the 'yo' form spelling changes to keep the sound correct.
-car
c → qu
Tocar -> yo toqué
-gar
g → gu
Jugar -> yo jugué
-zar
z → c
Empezar -> yo empecé
Fill in the Blanks (Preterite)
Click the blank to reveal the correct past tense form.
Tú viviste en Madrid. (vivir)
Ellas estudiaron mucho. (estudiar)
Yo jugué al fútbol. (jugar)
Nosotros comimos tacos. (comer)
Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Now say or write your own answer to: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
IR (To go) & SER (To be)
In the past tense, IR and SER share the exact same conjugations! Context tells you which one it is.
| Spanish | English (IR) | English (SER) |
|---|---|---|
| yo fui | I went | I was |
| tú fuiste | you went | you were |
| él / ella / usted fue | he/she/you went | he/she/you was |
| nosotros / nosotras fuimos | we went | we were |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes fueron | they went | they were |
Context Check — Fui vs Fui
Does the verb mean "went" (IR) or "was" (SER)?
1. Ayer fui al supermercado.
IR (went). "Yesterday I went to the supermarket."
2. El viaje fue muy largo.
SER (was). "The trip was very long."
3. Ellos fueron actores famosos.
SER (were). "They were famous actors."
Build the Sentence 1
Drag words to build: Last night we ate pizza.
Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Now say or write your own answer to: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
Build the Sentence 2
Drag words to build: Yesterday I went to the park.
Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Now say or write your own answer to: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
Hangman — Time Expressions
Guess the expression: "Last night"
Misses: 0
Say it, then make it yours: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Follow with your own answer: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
Image Prompt — ¿Qué hiciste?
Answer the question about the picture in the past tense.
¿Qué hizo ella anoche?
(Say she cooked dinner.)
¿Tú cocinaste ayer?
(Answer for yourself!)
Model first, then personalise it: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Continue with one more detail. Partner prompt: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
Conversación — El fin de semana pasado
A: Hola, ¿qué hiciste el fin de semana pasado? (Hello, what did you do last weekend?)
B: El sábado fui a la playa y nadé en el mar. (On Saturday I went to the beach and swam in the sea.)
A: ¡Qué divertido! Yo me quedé en casa. (How fun! I stayed at home.)
B: ¿Por qué? ¿Estudiaste para el examen? (Why? Did you study for the exam?)
A: Sí, estudié todo el día. (Yes, I studied all day.)
Review Quiz (1/3)
1. Which is the correct past tense form for 'Yo' (verb: estudiar)?
2. How do you say 'They lived' (verb: vivir)?
Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Now say or write your own answer to: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
Review Quiz (2/3)
3. Which is correct for "I played" (jugar)?
4. Which is correct for "You (informal) went"?
Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Now say or write your own answer to: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
Review Quiz (3/3)
5. Translate: "El mes pasado"
Think before you reveal the answer: Model answer: Ayer fui al cine y comí palomitas. Now say or write your own answer to: ¿Qué hiciste ayer?
English-speaker check: Use the preterite for completed events with a clear time such as ayer.
¡Fin de la Lección 13!
You can now talk about what happened in the past!
Notes