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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', 'simple past', 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.
English's preterite — usually called its ''simple past'' or, somewhat loosely, its ''past-tense form'' — is generally formed by adding ''-ed'' or ''-d'' to the verb's plain form (bare infinitive), sometimes with some spelling modifications:
★ He 'planted' corn and oats.
★ They 'studied' grammar.
A number of verbs form their preterites irregularly:
★ She 'went' to the cinema.
★ I 'ate' breakfast late this morning.
Interrogative and negative clauses do not use their main verb's preterites; rather, if their declarative or positive counterpart does not use any auxiliary or modal verb, then the auxiliary verb ''did'' (the preterite of ''do'') is inserted and the main verb appears in its plain form:
★ 'Did' he 'plant' corn and oats?
★ She 'did' not 'go' to the cinema.
In German, the 'Präteritum' is used for past actions. (Older grammar books sometimes call it the "imperfect", an unsuitable borrowing from Latin terminology.) 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 'gab' 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, the '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 present perfect is used for past actions when the focus is on the present state of the subject as a result of a previous 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, and he's being talked about strictly in the past)
★ Perfect: "Heute früh ''ist'' mein Freund ''gekommen''." (my friend came early in the morning, but he's being talked about in the present)
In Latin, the 'perfect' tense most commonly functions as the 'preterite', and refers to an action ''completed'' in the past. If the past action wasn't completed, one would use the imperfect tense. The perfect tense in Latin also functions in other circumstances as a present perfect tense.
Typical conjugation:
''Dūxī'' can be translated as (preterite) ''"I led," "I did lead"'' or (present perfect) ''"I have led."''
In French, the preterite is known as ''le passé simple'' ("the 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 imperfect tense (''l'imparfait''), used in expressing repeated, continuous, or habitual past actions (often corresponding to English's past continuous ''was/were <verb>ing''). In the oral language, the preterite is no longer used, and is replaced with a compound tense known as ''le passé composé'' ("the compound past"). French simple past is mostly used in a narrative way to tell stories and describe successive actions. Novelists use it very commonly, it brings more suspens as the sentence can be short without any time reference needed. In the oral language, past simple is rarely used except with story telling. Therefore, it is quite uncommon to meet past simple in a standard discussion.
Typical conjugations:
In Italian, the preterite is usually called ''Passato Remoto'' (simple past or past absolute, literally "remote past"). 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 (''mangiai'', "I ate"). This is as opposed to the ''imperfetto'' tense, which refers to any repeated, continuous, or habitual past action (''mangiavo'', "I ate" or "I was eating" or "I used to eat"). In the spoken language of northern Italy, the passato remoto is not normally used, the compound ''passato prossimo'' tense taking its place (''ho mangiato'', "I have eaten" but, in northern Italy, also "I ate").
Typical conjugations:
★
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) and with the ''pretérito perfeito composto'' (present perfect).
Typical conjugations:
1 Without the acute accent in Brazilian Portuguese.
In Spanish, the 'preterite' ''(pretérito)'' is a verb tense that indicates that an action taken once in the past was completed at some point in the past. This is 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:
In Ladino, 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 falafel 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:
★ Grammatical tense
★ Grammatical aspect
★
The 'preterite' (also 'praeterite', in American English also 'preterit', 'simple past', 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.
| Contents |
| Preterites in Germanic languages |
| English |
| German |
| Preterites in Romance languages |
| Latin |
| French |
| Italian |
| Portuguese |
| Spanish |
| Ladino |
| See also |
Preterites in Germanic languages
English
English's preterite — usually called its ''simple past'' or, somewhat loosely, its ''past-tense form'' — is generally formed by adding ''-ed'' or ''-d'' to the verb's plain form (bare infinitive), sometimes with some spelling modifications:
★ He 'planted' corn and oats.
★ They 'studied' grammar.
A number of verbs form their preterites irregularly:
★ She 'went' to the cinema.
★ I 'ate' breakfast late this morning.
Interrogative and negative clauses do not use their main verb's preterites; rather, if their declarative or positive counterpart does not use any auxiliary or modal verb, then the auxiliary verb ''did'' (the preterite of ''do'') is inserted and the main verb appears in its plain form:
★ 'Did' he 'plant' corn and oats?
★ She 'did' not 'go' to the cinema.
German
In German, the 'Präteritum' is used for past actions. (Older grammar books sometimes call it the "imperfect", an unsuitable borrowing from Latin terminology.) 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 'gab' 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, the '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 present perfect is used for past actions when the focus is on the present state of the subject as a result of a previous 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, and he's being talked about strictly in the past)
★ Perfect: "Heute früh ''ist'' mein Freund ''gekommen''." (my friend came early in the morning, but he's being talked about in the present)
Preterites in Romance languages
Latin
In Latin, the 'perfect' tense most commonly functions as the 'preterite', and refers to an action ''completed'' in the past. If the past action wasn't completed, one would use the imperfect tense. The perfect tense in Latin also functions in other circumstances as a present perfect tense.
Typical conjugation:
| Dūcō, Dūcere, Dūxī, Ductus | |
|---|---|
| ''ego'' | -ī (dūxī) |
| ''tū'' | -isti (dūxisti) |
| ''is'' | -it (dūxit) |
| ''nōs'' | -imus (dūximus) |
| ''vōs'' | -istis (dūxistis) |
| ''eī'' | -ērunt (dūxērunt) |
''Dūxī'' can be translated as (preterite) ''"I led," "I did lead"'' or (present perfect) ''"I have led."''
French
In French, the preterite is known as ''le passé simple'' ("the 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 imperfect tense (''l'imparfait''), used in expressing repeated, continuous, or habitual past actions (often corresponding to English's past continuous ''was/were <verb>ing''). In the oral language, the preterite is no longer used, and is replaced with a compound tense known as ''le passé composé'' ("the compound past"). French simple past is mostly used in a narrative way to tell stories and describe successive actions. Novelists use it very commonly, it brings more suspens as the sentence can be short without any time reference needed. In the oral language, past simple is rarely used except with story telling. Therefore, it is quite uncommon to meet past simple in a standard discussion.
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, literally "remote past"). 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 (''mangiai'', "I ate"). This is as opposed to the ''imperfetto'' tense, which refers to any repeated, continuous, or habitual past action (''mangiavo'', "I ate" or "I was eating" or "I used to eat"). In the spoken language of northern Italy, the passato remoto is not normally used, the compound ''passato prossimo'' tense taking its place (''ho mangiato'', "I have eaten" but, in northern Italy, also "I ate").
Typical conjugations:
| -are verbs (parlare) | -ere verbs (credere) ★ | -ire verbs (finire) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| ''io'' | -ai (parlai) | -ei (credei) | -ii (finii) |
| ''tu'' | -asti (parlasti) | -esti (credesti) | -isti (finisti) |
| ''lui'' | -ò (parlò) | -è (credè) | -ì (finì) |
| ''noi'' | -ammo (parlammo) | -emmo (credemmo) | -immo (finimmo) |
| ''voi'' | -aste (parlaste) | -este (credeste) | -iste (finiste) |
| ''loro'' | -arono (parlarono) | -erono (crederono) | -irono (finirono) |
★
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) and with the ''pretérito perfeito composto'' (present perfect).
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)1 | -emos (corremos) | -imos (partimos) |
| ''vós'' | -astes (amastes) | -estes (correstes) | -istes (partistes) |
| ''eles'' | -aram (amaram) | -eram (correram) | -iram (partiram) |
1 Without the acute accent in Brazilian Portuguese.
Spanish
In Spanish, the 'preterite' ''(pretérito)'' is a verb tense that indicates that an action taken once in the past was completed at some point in the past. This is 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 (vivir) | |
|---|---|---|
| ''yo'' | -é (hablé) | -í (comí) (viví) |
| ''tú'' | -aste (hablaste) | -iste (comiste) (viviste) |
| ''él'' | -ó (habló) | -ió (comió) (vivió) |
| ''nosotros'' | -amos (hablamos) | -imos (comimos) (vivimos) |
| ''vosotros'' | -asteis (hablasteis) | -isteis (comisteis) (vivisteis) |
| ''ellos'' | -aron (hablaron) | -ieron (comieron) (vivieron) |
Ladino
In Ladino, 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 falafel 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) |
See also
★ Grammatical tense
★ Grammatical aspect
★
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