How to use Estar (to be), tener (to have) and poner (to put) in the simple past in Spanish

Learn how to use Estar (to be), tener (to have) and poner (to put) in the simple past, and what to use it for in Spanish.
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Estar (to be), tener (to have) and poner (to put) in the simple past

Reminder: the pretérito indefinido (simple past) is used with actions that begin and end in the past.

Ayer cenamos en casa de Rodrigo.

Yesterday we had dinner at Rodrigo's house.

The verbs estar (to be), tener (to have) and poner (to put) are irregular in this tense, with the following conjugation:


Estar en
Yo estuve
Tú estuviste
Él/ella/usted estuvo
Nosotros/as estuvimos
Vosotros/as estuvisteis
Ellos/ellas/ustedes estuvieron


Tener en
Yo tuve
Tú tuviste
Él/ella/usted tuvo
Nosotros/as tuvimos
Vosotros/as tuvisteis
Ellos/ellas/ustedes tuvieron


Poner en
Yo puse
Tú pusiste
Él/ella/usted puso
Nosotros/as pusimos
Vosotros/as pusisteis
Ellos/ellas/ustedes pusieron
 

Ayer estuve en la oficina.

Yesterday I was at the office.

Tuvo un examen la semana pasada.

He had an exam last week.

Pusimos la ropa en la lavadora.

We put the clothes in the washing machine.

Note: verbs ending in -tener (obtener/to obtain, mantener/to maintain, etc.) and in -poner (componer/to compose, exponer/to exhibit, etc.) follow the same irregular pattern.

Magda obtuvo un aumento de salario. obtener, pret. indefinido

Magda got a salary increase.

Te compuse una canción. componer, pret. indefinido

I composed a song for you.

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