Recursio
Lesson 67. Yesterday I…: hablé
10 words in this lesson
Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.
pretérito indefinido: -ar
Pretérito indefinido: -ar
For finished events in the past, especially with ayer, anoche, la semana pasada, el año pasado, Spanish usually uses the pretérito indefinido — roughly the English simple past:
| trabajar | |
|---|---|
| yo | trabajé |
| tú | trabajaste |
| él, ella, usted | trabajó |
| nosotros | trabajamos |
| vosotros | trabajasteis |
| ellos, ustedes | trabajaron |
Stress makes the difference
Hablo — “I speak,” hablé — “I spoke,” habló — “he spoke.” The written accent on the last syllable is essential.
The nosotros form is the same as in the present: quedamos — “we meet” and “we met.” Context tells you which: La semana pasada quedamos en el centro.
Spelling in the yo form
To keep the sound, the yo form changes a letter:
- buscar → busqué;
- llegar → llegué;
- empezar → empecé.
The other forms are regular: buscaste, llegó, empezamos.
Today or yesterday
In Spain: hoy he trabajado (lesson 62), but ayer trabajé. In Latin America the indefinido is often used for today as well.
Words in this lesson
Quedar means “to meet up, to arrange to meet”: ¿Quedamos el martes? Tocar means “to play an instrument”: tocar la guitarra. To play a game or football is jugar (lesson 46).
Ayer trabajé mucho. — Yesterday I worked a lot.
¿Qué cenaste anoche? — What did you have for dinner last night?
La semana pasada quedamos en el centro. — Last week we met up downtown.
Lucía tocó la guitarra. — Lucía played the guitar.
Llegué tarde. — I arrived late.
Dialogue
Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.
Nora Javier, ¿qué cenaste anoche? Javier, what did you have for dinner last night?
Javier Preparé pollo con patatas. ¿Y tú? I made chicken and potatoes. And you?
Nora Yo cené con Lucía. Ella tocó la guitarra y cantamos. I had dinner with Lucía. She played the guitar and we sang.
Javier ¿Lucía toca la guitarra? Lucía plays the guitar?
Nora Sí, muy bien. ¿Y tú? ¿Trabajaste ayer? Yes, really well. And you? Did you work yesterday?
Javier Sí, ayer trabajé mucho. Llegué a casa muy tarde. Yes, I worked a lot yesterday. I got home really late.
Nora ¿Quedamos el martes en el centro? Shall we meet up downtown on Tuesday?
Javier ¡Sí! A las cinco, en la plaza. Yes! At five, in the square.
Check yourself
Listen. What did you hear?
1. How do you say “Yesterday I worked a lot”?
2. How do you ask a friend “What did you have for dinner last night?”
3. How do you say “Last week we met up downtown”?
4. You were late for work yesterday. How do you say “I arrived late”?
Match each word with its translation
Build the sentence: “Yesterday I worked a lot”
Build the question: “What did you have for dinner last night?”
What you can do now
- Talk about yesterday: Ayer trabajé mucho.
- Ask: ¿Qué cenaste anoche?
- Say when: la semana pasada, el año pasado
- Tell apart: hablo — hablé — habló
Key phrases of the lesson:
Ayer trabajé mucho.
¿Qué cenaste anoche?
La semana pasada quedamos en el centro.
Day 67 of 100. Next up: the following lesson.
Lesson 68. I was born, I learned: nací →The course is the first step. Next comes the Recursio app: short daily practice with spaced review.