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.
¡Hasta pronto!
Angeles F.
'Click and listen' glossary: (alphabetical order):
Recommended material:
- There are four Spanish verbs that you should memorize; they are irregular in the preterite tense: (Click and listen)
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! - 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: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 / Ustedesanduve
anduviste
anduvo
anduvimos
anduvisteis
anduvieroncupe
cupiste
cupo
cupimos
cupisteis
cupieronestuve
estuviste
estuvo
estuvimos
estuvisteis
estuvieronhube
hubiste
hubo
hubimos
hubisteis
hubieronHacer
(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 / Ustedeshice
hiciste
hizo
hicimos
hicisteis
hicieronpude
pudiste
pudo
pudimos
pudisteis
pudieronpuse
pusiste
puso
pusimos
pusisteis
pusieronquise
quisiste
quiso
quisimos
quisisteis
quisieronSaber
(To know)Tener
(To have)Venir
(To come)Preterite
stem change:sup- tuv- vin- Yo
Tu
El / Ella
Nosotros
Vosotros
Ellos / Ustedessupe
supiste
supo
supimos
supisteis
supierontuve
tuviste
tuvo
tuvimos
tuvisteis
tuvieronvine
viniste
vino
vinimos
vinisteis
vinieron
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)
¡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:
Spanish Language Forum Posts |
Spanish Language Dictations Level Beginner #001 |
A Bit Of Grammar And... Some Practice! |
¡Hola a todos! Hello everyone! |

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