Ver (to see) · Preterite
By TutorLily Editorial Team · Last updated
Ver in the Spanish preterite (pretérito indefinido) is: yo vi, tú viste, él/ella/usted vio, nosotros/as vimos, vosotros/as visteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes vieron. The preterite of ver is structurally regular except that the yo form 'vi' and the él/ella/usted form 'vio' lost their written accents in the 2010 RAE spelling reform (previously 'ví' and 'vió'). These are the same shape as the preterite of dar (di, dio).
| To See | Ver |
|---|---|
| I saw | yo vi |
| you saw | tú viste |
| he/she saw | él/ella/usted vio |
| we saw | nosotros/as vimos |
| you saw | vosotros/as visteis |
| they saw | ellos/ellas/ustedes vieron |
Ver (to see) in context
Sentences that use ver in the preterite. Tap each to hear it.
I saw your mother at the supermarket.
Did you see the news last night?
My brother saw a deer in the forest.
We saw a fascinating documentary.
Did you watch the game on Sunday?
The witnesses saw what happened.
Working with the preterite
The preterite describes a finished past action with a clear boundary — "ayer comí pizza" (yesterday I ate pizza). The key contrast is with the imperfect, which describes ongoing or repeated past actions without a defined endpoint. If you can substitute "used to" or "was doing" in English, you usually want the imperfect; if the action is one-and-done, you want the preterite. The irregular preterites (fui, hice, dije, tuve, vine, supe) are the highest-frequency in Spanish — front-load them.
Frequently asked questions
How do you conjugate ver in the preterite?
Why don't 'vi' and 'vio' have accents anymore?
Should I use 'vi' (preterite) or 'veía' (imperfect)?
Practice Ver (To See) in real conversations
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