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- This article is about the grammatical term. To see the article relating to eschatology and the Book of Revelation, see Preterism.
The preterite (also praeterite, in American English also preterit, or past historic) is the grammatical tense expressing actions which took place in the past. It is similar to the aorist in languages such as Greek. In English, the term preterite is often superseded by simple past or past simple, although it is still often heard in its adjectival form (for instance: "The preterite form of 'to come' is 'came'.").
- "She went to the cinema."
Preterite in Indo-European languages
German
In German, the Präteritum is used for past actions. In South Germany, Austria and Switzerland, it is mostly used solely in writing, for example in stories. Use in speech is regarded as snobbish and thus very uncommon. South German dialects, such as the Bavarian dialect, have no preterite, but only perfect constructs.
In certain regions, a few specific verbs are used in the preterite, for instance the modal verbs and the verbs haben (have) and sein (be).
- Es war einmal ein kleines Mädchen, das Rotkäppchen hieß. (There was once a small girl who was called Little Red Riding Hood.)
In speech and informal writing, Perfekt is used (eg, Ich habe dies und das gesagt. (I said this and that)).
However, in the colloquial language of North Germany, there is still a very important difference between the preterite and the perfect, and both tenses are consequently very common. The preterite is used for past actions when the focus is on the action, whilst the perfect is used for past actions when the focus is on the result of the action. This corresponds to the English usage of the preterite and the present perfect.
- Preterite: "Heute früh kam mein Freund." (my friend came early in the morning, but perhaps he has already gone)
- Perfect: "Heute früh ist mein Freund gekommen." (he is still here)
Spanish
In Spanish, the preterite is a verb tense that indicates an action taken once in the past that was completed at some point in the past. This is as opposed to the imperfect tense, which refers to any repeated, continuous, or habitual past action. Thus, "I ran five miles yesterday" would use the first-person preterite form of ran, corrí, whereas "I ran five miles every morning" would use the first-person imperfect tense form, corría. This distinction is actually one of perfective vs. imperfective aspect.
Typical conjugation:
| -ar verbs (hablar) | -er verbs (comer) and -ir verbs (insistir) | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -é (hablé) | -í (comí) (insistí) |
| tú | -aste (hablaste) | -iste (comiste) (insististe) |
| él | -ó (habló) | -ió (comió) (insistió) |
| nosotros | -amos (hablamos) | -imos (comimos) (insistimos) |
| vosotros | -asteis (hablasteis) | -isteis (comisteis) (insististeis) |
| ellos | -aron (hablaron) | -ieron (comieron) (insistieron) |
French
In French, the preterite is usually called passé simple ("simple past"). As in Spanish, it is a past tense that indicates an action taken once in the past that was completed at some point in the past (translated: "verbed"). This is as opposed to the imparfait tense, which refers to any repeated, continuous, or habitual past action (translated: "was/were verbing"). In the oral language, the passé simple is not used anymore and is replaced with the compound passé composé. In the formal or literary form of the language, however, passé simple is still commonly used.
Typical conjugations:
| -er verbs (aimer) | -ir verbs (finir) | -re verbs (rendre) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| je | -ai (aimai) | -is (finis) | -is (rendis) |
| tu | -as (aimas) | -is (finis) | -is (rendis) |
| il | -a (aima) | -it (finit) | -it (rendit) |
| nous | -âmes (aimâmes) | -îmes (finîmes) | -îmes (rendîmes) |
| vous | -âtes (aimâtes) | -îtes (finîtes) | -îtes (rendîtes) |
| ils | -èrent (aimèrent) | -irent (finirent) | -irent (rendirent) |
Italian
In Italian, the preterite is usually called Passato Remoto ("simple past or past absolute"). Like in Spanish and French, it is a past tense that indicates an action taken once in the past that was completed at some point in the past (translated: "verbed"). This is as opposed to the imperfetto tense, which refers to any repeated, continuous, or habitual past action (translated: "was/were verbing"). In the oral language, the passato remoto is not used anymore and is replaced with the compound passato prossimo except in the southern part of the country. In the formal or literary form of the language, however, passato remoto is still commonly used.
Typical conjugations:
| -are verbs (parlare) | -ire verbs (finire) | -ere verbs (credere)* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | -ai (parlai) | -ii (finii) | -ei (credei) |
| tu | -asti (parlasti) | -isti (finisti) | -esti (credesti) |
| lui | -ò (parlò) | -ì (finì) | -è (credè) |
| noi | -ammo (parlammo) | -immo (finimmo) | -emmo (credemmo) |
| voi | -aste (parlaste) | -iste (finiste) | -este (credeste) |
| loro | -arono (parlarono) | -irono (finirono) | -erono (crederono) |
Judeo-Spanish
In Judeo-Spanish, the preterite indicates that an action taken once in the past was also completed at some point in the past. This is as opposed to the imperfect tense which refers to any continuous, habitual, unfinished or repetitive past action. Thus, "I ate felafel yesterday" would use the first-person preterite form of eat, comí, whereas "When I lived in Izmir, I ran five miles every evening" would use the first-person imperfect tense form, koría. Though some of the morphology has changed, usage is just as in normative Castilian.
Typical conjugation:
| -ar verbs (avlar) | -er verbs (komer) and -ir verbs (bivir) | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | -í (avlí) | -í (komí) (biví) |
| tu | -ates (avlates) | -ites (komites) (bivites) |
| el eya | -ó (avló) | -yó (komyó) (bivyó) |
| mozotros | -amos (avlamos) | -imos (komimos) (bivimos) |
| vozotros | -atesh (avlatesh) | -itesh (komitesh) (bivitesh) |
| eyos | -aron (avlaron) | -yeron (komyeron) (bivyeron) |
Portuguese
In Portuguese, the preterite is the pretérito perfeito. As in other Romance Languages, it denotes an isolated event initiated in the past, and completed before the present. It contrasts with the pretérito imperfeito (imperfect).The pretérito perfeito originated in the perfectum (present perfect) of Latin, and it may still correspond to the present perfect of English in some cases. For example, the translation of the question "Have you heard the latest news?" is Já ouviu a última notícia?, not *Já tem ouvido a última notícia?
Typical conjugations:
| -ar verbs (amar) | -er verbs (correr) | -ir verbs (partir) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| eu | -ei (amei) | -i (corri) | -i (parti) |
| tu | -aste (amaste) | -este (correste) | -iste (partiste) |
| ele | -ou (amou) | -eu (correu) | -iu (partiu) |
| nós | -ámos (amámos) | -emos (corremos) | -imos (partimos) |
| vós | -astes (amastes) | -estes (correstes) | -istes (partistes) |
| eles | -aram (amaram) | -eram (correram) | -iram (partiram) |
Latin
In Latin, the preterite or perfect tense refers to an action completed in the past. If the action wasn't completed, one would use the imperfect tense. The perfect tense does not deviate from conjugation to conjugation, and the endings stay consistent for all four conjugations. To form the perfect tense, the ī on the third principle part must be removed, and the appropriate endings, which are listed below, must be added.
Typical conjugation:
| Dūcō, Dūcere, Dūxī, Ductus | |
|---|---|
| Ego | -ī (dūxi) |
| Tū | -isti (dūxisti) |
| Is, Ea, Id | -it (dūxit) |
| Nōs | -imus (dūximus) |
| Vōs | -istis (dūxistis) |
| Eī, Eae, Ea | -ērunt (dūxērunt) |
Dūxī can be translated as "I led," "I did lead" or "I have led."
See also
Präteritum | Préteritum | Präteritum | Pretérito imperfecto | Imperfekti | Durant Indicatif Erirece
"Preterite"