The preterite tense is pretty much similar to the past simple in English. That is to say, it is equivalent to the verbs used in English that end in -ed in its regular forms (stopped, accepted, alllowed), or in an iregular ending as in ate, went, came, thrown. Basically, this verbal tense is used to talk about finished actions in the past in the manner of a narrative of events in which one event leads to another. In Spanish, the regular preterite tense is formed by adding the endings -é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron, to the verbs of the first conjugation in -ar (andar, cocinar). For the verbs of the second and third conjugation ending in -er or -ir, the endings are -í, -iste, ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron, as in comí, comiste, comió. The irregular verbs have their own forms and must be studied independently. If you want a good tip to learn the preterite in Spanish, think about a clock and begin to say things that you did for example on sunday, going clockwise. For example, ayer me levanté, me duché, desayuné y me fui a trabajar.