Challenge: Asking questions using the preterite tense
Asking questions using the preterite tense.
As we know the ultimate goal of learning any language is being able to hold a conversation in that language. Being able to ask, understand and answer questions is a key skill that you will need.
If you would like some practice, this set of exercises focuses on using verbs in the preterite (past) tense, along with the question words found in the previous lesson. Let's learn how to ask people about things that they did recently and how to tell others what we've been up to lately.
We will just be using the 'tú' and 'yo' forms in this lesson so that you can ask 'what did you do?" and answer 'I did such and such'.
Let's take 12 common verbs that could be used to describe actions in the past and look at their 'tú' and 'yo' forms:
Hacer - to do, make (tú ) hiciste: you did, made (yo) hice: I did, made
Ver: to see, watch (tú ) viste: you saw, watched (yo) vi: I saw, watched
Ir: to go (tú ) fuiste: you went (yo) fui: I went
Comer: to eat (tú ) comiste: you ate (yo) comí: I ate
Jugar: to play (tú ) jugaste: you played (yo) jugué: I played
Visitar: to visit (tú )visitaste: you visited (yo) visité: I visited
Trabajar: to work (tú ) trabajaste: you worked (yo) trabajé: I worked
Pasar: to spend (tiempo) (tú ) pasaste: you spent (time) (yo) pasé: I spent
Leer: to read (tú ) leíste: you read (yo) leí: I read
Tocar: to play (tú ) tocaste: you played (yo) toqué: I played
Lavar: to wash (tú ) lavaste: you washed (yo) lavé: I washed
Llamar: to call (tú ) llamaste: you called (yo) llamé: I called
Now let's use these verbs to ask and answer some questions:
¿Qué hiciste ayer? What did you do yesterday?
Lavé la ropa. I did the washing. (Ie. I washed the clothes.)
A quick lesson on direct objects:
The direct object in a sentence is 'who' or 'what' receives the action of the verb. Not the one doing the action of the verb, that's the subject - but who or what is receiving the action of the verb.
For instance, in the sentence, I see my Mum. My Mum is the 'direct object'. She's not doing the seeing so she's not the subject but she is being seen, she's receiving the action of the verb so she's the direct object.
The dog ate the biscuit. The biscuit is the direct object.
Who did you see? Whoever you saw is the direct object.
NB: When the direct object of a sentence is a person (or a pet) you need to put an 'a' before the direct object. This is called 'the personal 'a'.
For instance to translate: 'I saw my Mum.' you might expect to write: 'Vi mi mamá' but because she's a person (no, not a pet - definitely a person 
) you would need to add add the personal 'a' before the direct object, 'vi a mi mamá'.
To translate, 'who did you see yesterday?' you would need to say '¿A quién viste ayer?'
You try with:
'Did you see your Dad?
¿Viste a tú papá?
How about, 'who did you call?'
¿A quién llamaste?
Well done! ¡Bien hecho!
Vocab:
The preterite past tense is good for using with specific time frames such as those shown below:
ayer: yesterday
la semana pasada: last week
anoche: last night
anteayer: the day before yesterday
el año pasado: last year
el otro día: the other day
el mes pasado: last month
esta mañana: this morning
esta tarde: this afternoon
hace dos días: two days ago
hace dos años: two years ago
ayer por la mañana: yesterday morning
ayer por la tarde: yesterday afternoon
Now for the exercise:
Using the given verbs (and any others that you already know) and the vocab above create a dialogue between two people with questions and answers.
Post your dialogue below if you would like to receive corrections
7 Answers
What did you do without me last night?
Well, nothing... Just hung around...
Gracias a Mariana:
¿Qué hisiste anoche sin mi?
Pues, nada...Solo pasé el tiempo...
Maria: ¿Qué quieres comer hoy?
Pablo: No sé. Ayer comí demasiado pan. Por eso prefeiro pasta hoy.
Maria: Entiendo perfectamente. Mi madre me dijo que la semana pasada ella comió pasta todos los días, entonces, ¡está harta de pasta!
Pablo: ¡Así es la vida, mi amor!
A: ¿Visitaste a tu padre ayer por la tarde?
B: No, no fuí a su casa.
A: Entonces ¿dónde fuiste?
B: No fuí a ningún lugar. Leí un buen libro en lugar de visitarlo.
A: ¿Qué vas a hacer hoy? What are you going to do today?
B: Tengo muchos quehaceres. I have a lot of chores
A: ¿Sí? ¿Cómo qué? Yes, like what?
B: Tengo que ir a comprar mandados y paga el recibo de luz, y tengo una cita con el doctor. I have to go buy groceries, pay the electic bill and I have a doctor's appointment.
A: Pues, ¿no tienes tiempo para ir al cine conmigo? Well, don't you have time to go to the movies with me?
B: Quizás en la tarde. Maybe in the afternoon.
Bandita: ¿Viste ayer Eureka?
Wanda: Sí, vi un episodio del ciclo 3.
Bandita: ¿No es que la ciudad donde se inventan inventó las cosas?
Wanda: Sí, y parece que siempre hay un accidente misterioso .
bandita: Did you watch Eureka yesterday?
roommate: Yes, I watched an episode from Season 3.
bandita: Isn't that the town where they invent things?
roommate: Yes, and it seems like there is always a mysterious accident.
María: ¿Vas a la playa conmigo, o no?
Juán: Iría, pero no puedo encontrar mis llaves.
María: Pues... ¿dónde las dejaste?
Juán: ¡Si supiera eso, no estaría buscándolas!
María: Are you coming to the beach with me, or not?
Juán: I would come, but I can't find my keys.
María: Well... where did you leave them?
Juán: If I knew that, I wouldn't be looking for them!
Amiga: Hola chica, ¿qué hiciste anoche, fuiste a algún sitio? No te ví para nada.
Hiya, what did you do last night? Did you go anywhere? I didn't see you at all.
Kiwi Girl: No, yo no fui a ningún lado anoche. Sólo pasé un par de horas haciendo planes para nuestro viaje inminente a América Central.
No, I didn't go anywhere last night. I just spent a couple of hours planing our upcoming trip to Central America.
Amiga: ¡Ah qué emocionante! Visité allá hace dos años y !me encantaba!
Oh, how exciting. I went there two years ago and loved it!
