what does preterite mean?

Question

it says to rewrite the sentance in the preterite.

Answer 1

HI spanish, welcome to the forum

It means past simple.

Please use correct spelling here, and correct capitalization. this is a learning site

Answer 2

Simple (no auxilary verb) past tense in the indicative mood. It is used to describe events or succession of events that have a short duration and are completed in the past or where the beginning or completion of the action or event are emphasized. .
Spanish has a 2nd simple past tense (imperfect) for actions or events that are habitual or where there is no emphasis on duration, ending or beginning of the action or event.

In English it simply refers to the past tense.

In case you have a spell checker and wonder why is is always marking the word, it can be spelled preterit or preterite, but my spell checker only knows preterit.

No supe el significado (sentido) de la palabra "preterite" cuando la profesora me preguntó. The preterite is used here because we are referring to a specific moment in time (when the teacher asked me). [short duration and completed in the past]

No sabía el significado de la palabra "preteite.

The duration, starting and ending point of the action or event are not stressed.

Answer 3

it means to write the verb in the past tense form