In English, if you want to talk about something you did in the past, you normally add ‑ed to the end of the verb. For example, Yesterday I watched TV.
When you’re talking about the past in Spanish, the verb endings change depending on whether the subject is yo, tú, él, etc.
| viajar | |
|---|---|
| yo | viajé |
| tú | viajaste |
Pay attention to the accent mark at the end of the yo form!
| comer | |
|---|---|
| yo | comí |
| tú | comiste |
| vivir | |
|---|---|
| yo | viví |
| tú | viviste |
Ir and estar have special endings when talking about the past.
| estar | |
|---|---|
| yo | estuve |
| tú | estuviste |
| ir | |
|---|---|
| yo | fui |
| tú | fuiste |
Estuve en Madrid.
I was in Madrid.
¿Fuiste a México el verano pasado?
Did you go to Mexico last summer?
Hace can mean a lot of different things! In the sentences below, it means ago.
Estuviste en Madrid hace cuatro meses.
You were in Madrid four months ago.
Notice how the amount of time comes after the word hace.
Viajé a Italia hace ocho años.
I traveled to Italy eight years ago.