Click to see all conjugation charts of hablar in every tense
In this conjugation lesson we are going to learn how to inflect the verb hablar in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. It means we will see step by step how to create and translate forms of each grammatical person.
This lesson is specifically about the hablar verb conjugation. For a general overview of all the Simple Tenses conjugation have a look at the Simple Tenses Conjugation Chart.
You may also see this Video Presentation on how to conjugate verbs in Pretérito. It’s embedded below, but using the above link you can get more detailed information on conjugation in this tense and explanation of exceptions and special cases.
How to translate Pretérito to English
Notice that the phrases in English provided below next to each conjugation are not direct translations from Spanish to English. They are usually the closest general equivalents. The example differences are:- In Spanish conjugation, there is the form usted in the third person singular. But this person does not translate to the English third person singular. It translates to the so called formal you and uses the inflected form which is most often represented as he/she/it in English conjugation charts.
- Similar situation happens in the third person plural, where ustedes translates to the English plural formal you but uses the form which corresponds to the they form in English.
- Tenses are used differently in Spanish and English, so the actual translation should always take into account the context and focus on translating the meaning, not just words.
- In both languages each verb may have multiple meanings and not every meaning translates directly to the other language. Here also, the context and focusing on the particular meaning helps to create the most accurate translation.
Note the timeline
The ability to correctly locate the intended position on the timeline is an important skill for the right choice of tenses. So pay attention to the timeline in our lessons and visualize it while speaking, listening, writing and reading. After a bit practice you will be capable of selecting the right tense to use much easier.Step by step instructions
Pretérito belongs to the simple tenses group, which means that all of the inflected forms are one word long. There are also compound (compuesto) tenses in Spanish language, where each conjugated verb form consists of two words.The verb hablar has a completely regular conjugation in the Pretérito tense of the Indicativo mood. It means that this verb just follows the general rules for its group (-ar) without exceptions. The basis for the conjugation in this tense is the stem of the verb, so we need to begin by splitting the infinitive into a stem and an ending. It’s easy to do. Simply remove two letters from the end of the infinitive form to get the ending — one of -ar, -er or -ir. What’s left is the stem. So in case of our verb:- the stem is: habl-
- and the ending is: -ar
- yo hablé – I spoke
- tú hablaste – you spoke
- él habló – he spoke
- ella habló – she spoke
- usted habló – (formal) you spoke
- nosotros hablamos – we spoke
- nosotras hablamos – (feminine) we spoke
- vosotros hablasteis – (plural) you spoke
- vosotras hablasteis – (feminine, plural) you spoke
- ellos hablaron – they spoke
- ellas hablaron – (feminine) they spoke
- ustedes hablaron – (formal, plural) you spoke
This is it! The conjugation is now complete. Put together, the conjugation chart looks like this:
yo | hablé | I spoke |
tú | hablaste | you spoke |
él/ella/usted | habló | he/she/it spoke |
nosotros/nosotras | hablamos | we spoke |
vosotros/vosotras | hablasteis | you spoke |
ellos/ellas/ustedes | hablaron | they spoke |
But do not end your session yet – it’s important to repeat and practice the material in order to retain it. Check below for next steps.
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