español · A2 · verb · 4 minutes
Vivir in the preterite
Frame a period of residence as a completed chapter.
Understand the choice
The preterite of vivir frames residence as a completed chapter with a beginning or end. Its endings are the same as comer, but they attach to the unchanged stem viv-.
Core rule: Regular -ir verbs share the -er preterite endings.
Notice it in context
Viví en Chile un año y mis padres vivieron allí más tiempo.
I lived in Chile for a year and my parents lived there longer.
Regular -ir verbs share the -er preterite endings.
Vivimos juntos hasta 2022.
We lived together until 2022.
The finished period makes vivimos preterite here.
Mis abuelos vivieron en el campo.
My grandparents lived in the countryside.
Vivieron is third-person plural.
What to remember
- Viví and vivió carry the person-distinguishing accents.
- Vivimos is identical in present and preterite; a closed duration such as un año selects the past.
Common trap: Do not add an accent to vivimos. Spanish uses surrounding time information—not a spelling change—to distinguish “we live” from “we lived.”