preterite · "did" · Past · Level A
Something happened. It started, it finished, it is a dot on the line. Yesterday I ate, last night I couldn't sleep, in 2019 we went to Spain.
Examples
Ayer tuve que trabajar.
Yesterday I had to work.
Anoche no pude dormir.
Last night I couldn't sleep.
El sábado fuimos a la playa.
On Saturday we went to the beach.
Careful
1a and 1b are both the past. The difference is not when it happened but how you are looking at it: as a finished event (1a) or as something that was going on (1b). Time words help: ayer, anoche, el sábado point at 1a.
On the site
Pick a past opener like ayer and the builder moves the Engine to 1a for you: quiero becomes quise, tengo que becomes tuve que.
Practice 1a in Build