The Spanish Preterite (Pretérito Indefinido) is used to describe events that started and finished in the past. It is usually translated with the English Past Simple.

The verbs ir and ser in Preterite have identical forms. They are irregular and, in this article, we are going to learn when to use them.

Ir in Preterite

The verbs ir and ser in Preterite should be studied by heart because they are irregular. Let’s start with the verb ir (to go). As you know, this verb is also irregular in the Spanish Imperfect. Let’s see its forms in Preterite and some example sentences.

Ir
Fui
Fuiste
Fue
Fuimos
Fuisteis
Fueron

Yo fui a casa de mis primos, así que no pude ir a tu fiesta.

I went to my cousins’ house, so I couldn’t go to your party.

Tú fuiste al restaurante italiano para celebrar tu cumpleaños.

You went to the Italian restaurant to celebrate your birthday.

Roberto fue a Canadá de vacaciones el verano pasado.

Roberto went to Canada for a vacation last summer.

Ayer nosotros fuimos a la biblioteca y tomamos un libro de historia.

Yesterday we went to the library and took a history book.

Después de ayudarme a lavar los platos, Luis y tú fuisteis al parque.

After helping me do the dishes, Luis and you went to the park.

Mis vecinos se fueron y no sabemos dónde están. Estamos asustados.

My neighbors went away and we don’t know where they are. We’re scared.

Ser in Preterite

As you will see, the verbs ir and ser in Preterite tense are identical. Here are the forms of ser (to be) in the Spanish Preterite tense.

Ser
Fui
Fuiste
Fue
Fuimos
Fuisteis
Fueron

Creo que fui muy egoísta con mi prima. Por eso, le pedí perdón.

I think I was very selfish with my cousin. That is why, I asked her pardon.

Gracias por ayudarme ayer. Fuiste muy amable.

Thanks for helping me yesterday. You were very kind.

Guillermo González Camarena fue un ingeniero mexicano. Fue él quien inventó la televisión en color.

Guillermo González Camarena was a Mexican engineer. He was the inventor of color TV.

Nosotros fuimos vecinos en Madrid. Ahora yo vivo en Bilbao y tú en Valencia.

We were neighbors in Madrid. Now I live in Bilbao, and you live in Valencia.

Ayer María y tú no fuisteis puntuales y llegasteis tarde al trabajo.

Yesterday María and you were not punctual and arrived late to work.

Lo más aburrido de la boda fueron los discursos de algunos invitados.

The most boring thing about the wedding were some of the guests’ speeches.

When to Use Ir and Ser in Preterite

You need to rely on context to know when ir and ser in Preterite should be used. For example, an easy trick would be the presence (or not) of any preposition of direction after the verb. Ser is never followed by them, so if prepositions like a, por or hacia are used, it is because they are using the verb ir.

No fuisteis a la farmacia a comprar los medicamentos.

You didn’t go to the pharmacy to buy medicine.

Tu no fuiste por esta autopista porque prefieres la otra.

You didn’t go on this freeway because you prefer the other one.

Below you can see two more sentences. They look similar, however, the first one uses the verb ir and the second one uses the verb ser in Preterite.

Ellos fueron a ver a sus padres el viernes por la tarde.

They went to see their parents on Friday afternoon.

Ellos fueron padres muy jóvenes. Creo que con 20 años.

They became parents very young. I think they were 20 years old.

Exercises

Let’s do some exercises to practice the verbs ir and ser in Preterite tense.

Exercise 1

Exercise 2

Exercise 3

Categorized in:

Pretérito IndefinidoGrammar