Ayer y hoy.
Yesterday and today.
Two X-rays hang on the wall, one from the day before and one from today, and the doctor names the two days side by side.
From Dr. House · Spanish audio
Spanish vocabularyA1 · Beginner
How to say "yesterday" in Spanish
ayer
adverbstress on the second syllabletakes the past tense
"Yesterday" in Spanish is ayer, stressed on the second syllable: ah-YEHR. The verb after it goes in the past, as in Ayer salimos a las ocho. For "last night", Spanish has one word: anoche.
Hear "ayer" in real scenes
Two scenes that look one day back. Each video starts and stops on that line.
Ayer tuviste un cliente.
You had a customer yesterday.
A man in a hat leans in through a car window and slips the driver some money. Ayer at the start moves the whole sentence one day back.
From The Blacklist · Spanish audio
Talking about yesterday
Six phrases for the day that just ended and the one before it.
| Spanish | English |
|---|---|
| ayer por la mañana | yesterday morning |
| ayer por la tarde | yesterday afternoon |
| anoche | last night |
| anteayer | the day before yesterday |
| desde ayer | since yesterday |
| ayer mismo | just yesterday |
Tip: Anoche already contains the night, so you don't need ayer with it: Anoche no dormí. I didn't sleep last night.
Grammar: using ayer
Four points about the day before today.
Ayer takes the preterite
Ayer comí en casa. In Spain people often say hoy he comido, but with ayer they switch to the simple past.Yesterday was Monday
Ayer fue lunes. Use fue, the past of es, for the day or date.Short answers
¿Ayer? works as a question on its own, and Ayer no means not yesterday.Say it right
ah-YEHR: stress the second syllable. The y is a consonant, a little stronger than English y. In Argentina it sounds close to sh.Example sentences
Sentences from the Wordy Spanish course. Tap to listen.
Ayer salimos a las ocho.
We left at eight yesterday.
Ayer tuviste un cliente.
You had a customer yesterday.
No, ayer no. Antes.
No, not yesterday. Before that.
Ayer fue lunes.
Yesterday was Monday.
Common mistakes
Mistakes learners make with this word, and how to fix them.
✗Ayer he comido (in Spain)
✓Ayer comí
With ayer, use the simple past, even in Spain.
✗Ayer es lunes
✓Ayer fue lunes
Yesterday is over, so es becomes fue.
✗AH-yer (pronunciation)
✓ah-YEHR
The stress falls on the second syllable.
Practice: 3 quick exercises
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How to remember it
Ayer sounds a bit like "a year" said fast. Both point back in time, but ayer goes back just one day.
Questions about "yesterday" in Spanish
How do you say yesterday in Spanish?
Ayer, stressed on the second syllable: ah-YEHR.
How do you say "the day before yesterday" in Spanish?
Anteayer. It's one word.
How do you say "last night" in Spanish?
Anoche, one word. It already means the night before, so leave out ayer.
What tense do you use with ayer?
The preterite, the simple past: Ayer comí en casa. This is true in Spain too, where today's actions often take he comido.
