What is the difference between saying "pretérito" and "preterite"?

[Yoodle15]

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[wrholt]

"Pretérito" is one of the common names in Spanish for a type of past tense. "Preterit" or "preterite" is an English name for the same type of past tense. There are a variety of other common and less-common names for the same type of past tense, depending on the linguistic tradition and the particular language one is studying.

Depending on the grammar one consults, there are 2 different "pretéritos". For example, for the verb "decir" (to say) with the subject "yo" ("I"):
1. dije (I said) = pretérito perfecto simple
2. he dicho (I said, I have said) = pretérito perfecto compuesto

[Perikles]

Originally Posted by wrholt

Depending on the grammar one consults, there are 2 different "pretéritos".

Unfortunately, the definition varies and some grammars give all past forms of the Spanish verb as pretérito:

Pretérito imperfecto
Pretérito subjuntivo
Pretérito perfecto compuesto
Pretérito perfecto anterior
Pretérito plusquamperfecto etc.

Example

This is particularly confusing when compared with English grammars, which define the preterite as distinct from, say, the imperfect.