A2 · Unit 7 · 40 words, 2 texts with translation
Talk about your weekend
Say how your weekend went: parties, celebrations, presents and jokes. Talk about yesterday and last Saturday in the past tense.
Texts in this unit
Grammar in this unit
The preterite: regular -ar verbs
How do you say what happened yesterday or last Saturday? Spanish has a separate past tense for this — the preterite: the action happened and is finished, and that day is over. It's the tense for telling a story: we had dinner, we danced, we went home. In English it's usually the simple past: trabajé — I worked.
Let's start with regular -ar verbs. Drop -ar and add the ending:
| Person | hablar | Translation |
|---|---|---|
| yo | hablé | I talked |
| tú | hablaste | you talked |
| él / ella / usted | habló | he/she/you (formal) talked |
| nosotros | hablamos | we talked |
| vosotros | hablasteis | you (plural) talked |
| ellos / ellas / ustedes | hablaron | they/you (plural formal) talked |
Examples:
- Ayer trabajé hasta las ocho. — Yesterday I worked until eight.
- ¿Compraste el regalo? — Did you buy the present?
- Ana llamó anoche. — Ana called last night.
- Mis amigos bailaron hasta las tres. — My friends danced until three.
What matters:
- The written accent changes the meaning: hablo — I talk, habló — he talked. Always write the accent.
- The nosotros form is the same as in the present tense: cenamos is both "we have dinner" and "we had dinner". Words like ayer and anoche tell you which one.
- The stem doesn't change in this tense: pienso, but pensé; me acuesto, but me acosté.
- In the yo form some verbs change a letter to keep the same sound: llegar — llegué, buscar — busqué, empezar — empecé. The other forms are normal: llegó, buscaste.
Careful: estar and dar end in -ar, but they're irregular. Their forms, and -er and -ir verbs, come in the next units.
Time words: ayer, anoche, el sábado pasado
The preterite almost always comes with a word that answers the question "when?". If you hear or use a word like this, put the verb in the preterite.
| Word | Translation |
|---|---|
| ayer | yesterday |
| anoche | last night, yesterday evening |
| anteayer | the day before yesterday |
| el otro día | the other day |
| el sábado pasado | last Saturday |
| la semana pasada, el año pasado | last week, last year |
Examples:
- Anoche cené con Pablo. — Last night I had dinner with Pablo.
- El sábado pasado bailamos hasta las cuatro. — Last Saturday we danced until four.
- El otro día hablé con tu hermana. — The other day I talked to your sister.
- Anteayer llamé a mi madre. — The day before yesterday I called my mother.
No preposition before the day of the week, just like in English "last Saturday": it's simply el sábado pasado, without en.
Don't mix up anoche and esta noche: anoche is last night, it's already over; esta noche is tonight, it's still ahead.
What about he hablado? You already know it goes with hoy, esta semana, ya, todavía no (unit 2). Compare: with hoy, today isn't over yet, so he trabajado; with ayer, yesterday is over, so trabajé.
A common mistake is ✗ ayer he comprado. In Spain, with ayer, anoche and el año pasado you only say compré. English works the same way: you say "yesterday I bought", not "yesterday I have bought".
Years and dates: en 2024, el 3 de marzo de 2025
You already know that a date is el + number + de + month: el cinco de mayo (A1, unit 11). Now let's add the year. You need it to say when you arrived, when you started learning the language, when you changed jobs.
A year is read as one big number, all of it — not as two pairs of digits like in English ("nineteen ninety-six"). Big numbers are in unit 4:
1996 — mil novecientos noventa y seis2008 — dos mil ocho2024 — dos mil veinticuatro
"In a year" is en + year. In a full date there's one more de before the year:
- Llegué a España en 2024. — I came to Spain in 2024.
- Empecé el curso de español en enero de 2023. — I started the Spanish course in January 2023.
- Firmamos el contrato el 3 de marzo de 2025. — We signed the contract on March 3, 2025.
- ¿En qué año llegaste a Valencia? — What year did you come to Valencia?
Centuries are written in Roman numerals but read as a normal number, not like English "twenty-first": el siglo XXI — el siglo veintiuno. The last century — el siglo pasado.
Don't add the word año (year): just en 2024.
"I was born in 1990" is Nací en 1990. For now, learn nací as a set word: -er verbs come in the next unit. In conversation you can say it more simply: Soy de 1990 — "I was born in 1990" (word for word, "I'm from 1990").
Words in this unit
ayer — yesterday
Ayer compré un regalo para Lucía. — Yesterday I bought a present for Lucía.
anoche — last night, yesterday evening
Anoche bailé hasta las tres. — Last night I danced until three.
el plan — plan
¿Tienes planes para el sábado? — Do you have any plans for Saturday?
celebrar — to celebrate
Celebro mi cumpleaños el sábado. — I'm celebrating my birthday on Saturday.
el fin — end, purpose
El fin de semana vamos a la playa. — On the weekend we're going to the beach.
el regalo — present, gift
Tengo un regalo para ti. — I have a present for you.
la tarta — cake, pie
Mi madre prepara una tarta de chocolate. — My mom makes a chocolate cake.
la canción — song
Me encanta esta canción. — I love this song.
la invitación — invitation
Tengo una invitación para la fiesta. — I have an invitation to the party.
la discoteca — club, nightclub
La discoteca abre a las doce. — The club opens at twelve.
la copa — glass, drink
¿Tomamos una copa después de cenar? — Shall we have a drink after dinner?
el grupo — group, band
Somos un grupo de seis amigos. — We're a group of six friends.
el ambiente — atmosphere, vibe
En este bar hay muy buen ambiente. — There's a really good atmosphere in this bar.
la sorpresa — surprise
¡Qué sorpresa! — What a surprise!
el aniversario — anniversary
Hoy es nuestro aniversario de boda. — Today is our wedding anniversary.
la vela — candle
Soplo las velas de la tarta. — I blow out the candles on the cake.
el disfraz — costume
Mi disfraz de pirata es genial. — My pirate costume is great.
disfrazarse — to dress up (in a costume)
Me disfrazo de pirata. — I'm dressing up as a pirate.
encontrarse — to meet, to feel
Me encuentro con Ana en la puerta. — I'm meeting Ana at the entrance.
reírse — to laugh
Me río mucho con mis amigos. — I laugh a lot with my friends.
la broma — joke, prank
¡Es una broma! — It's a joke!
el chiste — joke
Mi padre cuenta chistes muy malos. — My dad tells really bad jokes.
bromear — to joke, to kid
Siempre bromeamos con Pablo. — We always joke around with Pablo.
durar — to last
La fiesta dura toda la noche. — The party lasts all night.
anteayer — the day before yesterday
Anteayer visité a mi abuela. — The day before yesterday I visited my grandmother.
el otro día — the other day
El otro día me encontré con Marta en el metro. — The other day I ran into Marta on the metro.
sábado noche — Saturday night
El sábado noche hay fiesta en casa de Lucía. — On Saturday night there's a party at Lucía's place.
la madrugada — early morning, the small hours
Llego a casa de madrugada. — I get home in the early morning.
la pista — dance floor, track, clue
Vamos a la pista de baile. — Let's go to the dance floor.
la cola — line (of people), tail
Hay mucha cola en la discoteca. — There's a long line at the club.
el escenario — stage
El grupo sube al escenario a las once. — The band goes on stage at eleven.
el/la cantante — singer
Mi cantante favorita es Rosalía. — My favorite singer (female) is Rosalía.
brindar — to toast, to drink to
Brindamos con cava. — We toast with cava.
fatal — awful, terrible, really badly
Me siento fatal hoy. — I feel awful today.
loco — crazy
Mi amigo está un poco loco. — My friend is a little crazy.
la resaca — hangover
Tengo una resaca terrible. — I have a terrible hangover.
nacer — to be born
Mi sobrino nace en marzo. — My nephew is due in March.
el siglo — century
Estamos en el siglo veintiuno. — We're in the twenty-first century.
la juerga — partying, night out, wild party
Esta noche nos vamos de juerga. — Tonight we're going out partying.
a tope — to the max, all out, packed
Bailamos a tope. — We dance all out.
Learn these words with flashcards
In the app, the unit’s words come to your flashcards a few at a time and repeat until they stick, and the texts show them in use. 15 minutes a day.
Start for freeEverything is open for free. No card needed to sign up.