As English native speakers we have to deal with a verb tense that is new to us: the

indefinido.
 
This verb tense is used in Spanish to describe events in the past that have no subjective relevance for the present.
If you translate from Spanish to English, we would suggest using the simple past.



Building the indefinido

General rule:

verb stem + endings for indefinido
 

Short revision:
Look up the chapter on how to find the verb stem of Spanish verbs following this link.
 


Pattern for building the indefinido of Spanish verbs
	-ar verbs	-er verbs	-ir verbs
1st pers sg	-é	-í	-í
2nd pers sg	-aste	-iste	-iste
3rd pers sg	-ó	-ió	-ió
1st pers pl	-amos	-imos	-imos
2nd pers pl	-asteis	-isteis	-isteis
3rd pers pl	-aron	-ieron	-ieron


 

💡 For example:
Crecí en una aldea del sur. – I grew up in a village in the South.
Viajé por todo el mundo. – I travelled the whole world.

Well, there are some exceptions to the above mentioned general rule.
In some cases, we have to deal with changes within the verb stem when building the indefinido.

• “e“ in the verb stem turns into “i”
  💡 For example:
  sentir – to feel
  sentí, sentiste, sintió, sentimos, sentisteis, sintieron

• “o“ changes to “u“
  💡 For example:
  dormir – to sleep
  dormí, dormiste, durmió, dormimos, dormisteis, durmieron