Spanish Preterite. Irregular Verbs (I)
After having reviewed the conjugation of the Preterite Tense for Regular Verbs (See Preterite Tense Conjugation - Regular Verbs.), now it is time to learn how irregular Spanish verbs are conjugated in the Preterite.
Note: Verbs SER and IR have the same conjugation in the Preterite!
Some Examples:
Mis padres nos dieron dos manzanas (My parents gave us two apples)
Les hice venir (I made them come)
Yo fui un buen estudiante (I was a good student)
Ayer fui al mercado (Yesterday I went to the market)
A group of verbs, irregular in the preterite, change their stems when conjugated in this tense, but all of them adopt the same endings:
(yo) -e
(tu) -iste
(el) -o
(nosotros) -imos
(vosotros) -isteis
(ellos / ustedes) -ieron
For example, the verbestar belongs to this group, as it changes its stem when conjugated in Preterite tense: Infinitive: estar - Preterite Stem Change --> estuv-
So, its Preterite conjugations is:
>(yo) estuve
(tu) estuviste
(él) estuvo
(nosotros) estuvimos
(vosotros) estuvisteis
(ellos / ustedes) estuvieron
All the verbs included in this classification and their corresponding Preterite conjugations are:
There are more grammar points about Irregular verbs and they Preterite conjugation that we'll study soon. Meanwhile, as always, for any question or comment, feel free to e-mail me.
¡Hasta pronto!
Angeles F.
'Click and listen' glossary: (alphabetical order):
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Content copyright © 2023 by Angeles Fernández. All rights reserved.
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DAR (TO GIVE) | HACER (TO MAKE, TO DO) | SER (TO BE) | IR (TO GO) | |
Yo | di (I gave) | hice (I made, I did) | fui (I was) | fui (I went) |
Tu | diste (You gave) | hiciste (You made, you did) | fuiste (you was) | fuiste (you went) |
El / Ella | dio (he/she gave) | hizo (he/she made, did) | fue (he/she was) | fue (he/she went) |
Nosotros / Nosotras | dimos (we gave) | hicimos (we made, did) | fuimos (we were) | fuimos (we went) |
Vosotros / Vosotras | disteis (you gave) | hicisteis (you made, did) | fuisteis (you were) | fuisteis (you went) |
Ellos / Ellas | dieron (they gave) | hicieron (they made, did) | fueron (they were) | fueron (they went) |
DAR conjugation | HACER conjugation | SER conjugation | IR conjugation |
Note: Verbs SER and IR have the same conjugation in the Preterite!
Some Examples:
Mis padres nos dieron dos manzanas (My parents gave us two apples)
Les hice venir (I made them come)
Yo fui un buen estudiante (I was a good student)
Ayer fui al mercado (Yesterday I went to the market)
(yo) -e
(tu) -iste
(el) -o
(nosotros) -imos
(vosotros) -isteis
(ellos / ustedes) -ieron
For example, the verbestar belongs to this group, as it changes its stem when conjugated in Preterite tense: Infinitive: estar - Preterite Stem Change --> estuv-
So, its Preterite conjugations is:
>(yo) estuve
(tu) estuviste
(él) estuvo
(nosotros) estuvimos
(vosotros) estuvisteis
(ellos / ustedes) estuvieron
All the verbs included in this classification and their corresponding Preterite conjugations are:
Andar (To walk) | Caber (To fit in) | Estar (To be) | Haber (To have) | |
Preterite stem change: | anduv- | cup- | estuv- | hub- |
Yo Tu El / Ella Nosotros Vosotros Ellos / Ustedes | anduve anduviste anduvo anduvimos anduvisteis anduvieron | cupe cupiste cupo cupimos cupisteis cupieron | estuve estuviste estuvo estuvimos estuvisteis estuvieron | hube hubiste hubo hubimos hubisteis hubieron |
Hacer (To make, to do) | Poder (To be able) | Poner (To put) | Querer (To want, to love) | |
Preterite stem change: | hic- | pud- | pus- | quis- |
Yo Tu El / Ella Nosotros Vosotros Ellos / Ustedes | hice hiciste hizo hicimos hicisteis hicieron | pude pudiste pudo pudimos pudisteis pudieron | puse pusiste puso pusimos pusisteis pusieron | quise quisiste quiso quisimos quisisteis quisieron |
Saber (To know) | Tener (To have) | Venir (To come) | ||
Preterite stem change: | sup- | tuv- | vin- | |
Yo Tu El / Ella Nosotros Vosotros Ellos / Ustedes | supe supiste supo supimos supisteis supieron | tuve tuviste tuvo tuvimos tuvisteis tuvieron | vine viniste vino vinimos vinisteis vinieron |
¡Hasta pronto!
Angeles F.
'Click and listen' glossary: (alphabetical order):
andar = to walk ayer = yesterday buen = good caber = to fit in <dos = two estar = to be estudiante = student | haber = to have hacer= to make, to do les = them manzana = apple mercado = market mis = my nos = us | padres = parents poder = (v) to be able / (n) power poner = to put querer = to want, to love saber = (v) to know tener = to have venir = to come |
Recommended material:
Related Articles
Editor's Picks Articles
Top Ten Articles
Previous Features
Site Map
Content copyright © 2023 by Angeles Fernández. All rights reserved.
This content was written by Angeles Fernández. If you wish to use this content in any manner, you need written permission. Contact Angeles Fernandez for details.