pretérite

The pretérite, also called the preterite, is a past tense used to express actions that are completed in the past. It is a standard feature of many Romance languages and, in English grammar, corresponds to the simple past.

Etymology and scope: The term derives from Latin praeteritus, meaning “gone by.” In languages such as Spanish and Portuguese, the pretérito (pretérito perfeito simples) marks actions with a defined beginning and end, often in narratives, and is frequently contrasted with forms that describe ongoing or habitual past actions.

Usage and features: The pretérite is commonly used to recount events in a definite past timeframe, to describe sequential past actions, or to state completed actions. Regular verb endings vary by language: in Spanish, -ar verbs take endings like hablé, hablaste, habló, hablamos, hablasteis, hablaron; -er/-ir verbs take comí, comiste, comió, comimos, comisteis, comieron. Spanish also has irregulars (for example, ser/ir: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron; hacer: hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron). Portuguese has a similar system with its own regular and irregular forms.

Cross-linguistic notes: Some languages distinguish a distant or literary past (for example, French passé simple) from other past tenses. In English, the corresponding tense is usually called the simple past. The pretérite remains a central tense for narrating completed past actions in many languages and is foundational to past tense conjugation systems.