Preterite
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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, 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.
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[edit] Preterites in Indo-European languages
[edit] 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.
[edit] 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 war 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)
[edit] 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) |
[edit] 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"). In the formal or literary form of the language, however, the preterite is still commonly used.
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) |
[edit] Italian
In Italian, the preterite is usually called Passato Remoto ("simple past or past absolute or also the 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 (translated: "verbed"). This is as opposed to the imperfetto tense, which refers to any repeated, continuous, or habitual past action (translated: "was/were verbing"). In the oral language, the passato remoto is not used anymore and is replaced with the compound passato prossimo except in the southern part of the country. In the formal or literary form of the language, however, passato remoto is still commonly used.
Typical conjugations:
| -are verbs (parlare) | -ire verbs (finire) | -ere verbs (credere)* | |
|---|---|---|---|
| io | -ai (parlai) | -ii (finii) | -ei (credei) |
| tu | -asti (parlasti) | -isti (finisti) | -esti (credesti) |
| lui | -ò (parlò) | -ì (finì) | -è (credè) |
| noi | -ammo (parlammo) | -immo (finimmo) | -emmo (credemmo) |
| voi | -aste (parlaste) | -iste (finiste) | -este (credeste) |
| loro | -arono (parlarono) | -irono (finirono) | -erono (crederono) |
*some verbs, including credere, also have endings -etti (1st person singular), -ette (3rd person singular), and -ettero (3rd person plural)
[edit] 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 felafel 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) |
[edit] 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 This acute accent is not used in Brazil.
[edit] Latin
In Latin, the preterite or perfect tense refers to an action completed in the past. If the action wasn't completed, one would use the imperfect 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 "I led," "I did lead" or "I have led."
