Responses:
a) In Spanish (Castilian) grammar, the Preterite or Simple Past Tense is utilized to describe specific actions completed in the past separately from the present.
In other terms:
It is applied when a speaker provides details about past events that do not relate to the present.
Keeping this in mind, let's proceed with the answers:
1. Correct response: Tú comenzaste ayer.
The principal verb in this sentence is comenzar (to start). This verb is conjugated in preterite format in the second-person singular tú (you) as comenzaste (you began).
In English, this sentence reads as:
You began yesterday
2. Correct response: Yo escribí una carta.
Here, the key verb is escribir (to write). This verb is also conjugated in preterite form in the first person singular yo (I) as escribí (I wrote).
In English, it is written as:
I wrote a letter
3. Correct response: Nosotros vivimos en San Diego.
In this instance, the main verb is vivir (to live). This verb takes the preterite form in the first-person plural nosotros (we) as vivimos (we lived).
In English, it reads as:
We lived in San Diego
4. Correct response: Mis padres pagaron para la cena.
The central verb is pagar (to pay). This is conjugated in the preterite for the third-person plural ellos (they), corresponding to the subject Mis padres, as pagaron (they paid).
In English, the sentence is:
My parents paid for dinner
5. Correct response: Ellos jugaron el béisbol.
Here the verb is jugar (to play). This is conjugated in preterite for the third-person plural ellos (they), interpreting as jugaron (they played).
In English, it can be expressed as:
They played baseball
b) Type both the infinitive and the preterite yo form of these verbs.
The infinitive form of a verb represents the verb in its base state (present), essentially how it appears in linguistic resources or dictionaries.
It usually precedes with to, although this is context-dependent.
Conversely,
“the preterite yo form”
delineates the
verb's conjugation in preterite or simple past tense for the first person in singular yo (I).
We have two verbs here,
to pay (pagar) and to prefer (preferir):
1. to pay
Infinitive form: Pagar
Preterite yo form: Yo pagué
2. to prefer
Infinitive form: Preferir
Preterite yo form: Yo preferí
c)
Right answer: almorzará
In the following sentence, based on context, the applicable verb is
almorzar (to lunch)
conjugated in future
using the
third person singular
él (he) referring to Mi abuelo (My grandfather), thus resulting in almorzará (he will lunch or he will have lunch).
As such, the sentence becomes:
Today my grandfather does not share a meal with us. He
almorzará
with some friends.
The verb
traer (to bring)
is not appropriate in this context.
