Spanish Preterite. - Irregular Verbs (II)
It is time to go on reviewing the Preterite tense conjugation of Spanish irregular verbs. We have already learned that there are four Spanish verbs, irregular in the preterite, that should be memorized, and also about a group of verbs, irregular in the preterite, that change their stems when conjugated in this tense, but adopting all of them the same endings. (See Spanish Preterite Tense - Conjugation of Irregular Verbs -I-).
So, let’s continue studying how to conjugate more irregular Spanish verbs. ¿Preparados?
So, let’s continue studying how to conjugate more irregular Spanish verbs. ¿Preparados?
- There are some First and Second conjugation verbs (-ar, -er) that, although they change their stem in the present tense, when conjugated in the preterite, they don’t change it:
CERRAR
(TO CLOSE)ENTENDER
(TO UNDERSTAND)PRESENT TENSE PRETERITE TENSE PRESENT TENSE PRETERITE TENSE Yo cierro
(I close)cerré
(I closed)entiendo
(I understand)entendí
(I understood)Tu cierras
(you close)cerraste
(you closed)entiendes
(you understand)entendiste
(you understood)El / Ella cierra
(he/she closes)cerró
(he/she closed)entiende
(he/she understands)entendió
(he/she understood)Nosotros / Nosotras cerramos
(we close)cerramos
(we closed)entendemos
(we understand)entimos
(we understood)Vosotros / Vosotras cerráis
(you close)cerrasteis
(you closed)entendéis
(you understand)entendisteis
(you understood)Ellos / Ellas cierran
(they close)cerraron
(they closed)entienden
(they understand)entendieron
(they understood)CERRAR Present conjugation CERRAR Preterite conjugation ENTENDER Present conjugation ENTENDER Preterite conjugation
And those -ir verbs (Third conjugation) that change their stems in the present, also change them in the preterite, but only with third persons (singular and plural, that’s (él - ella - ellos - ellas), and in a different way: Letter 'e' in the stem changes to 'i', and letter 'o' in the stem changes to 'u'
VESTIR> (TO CLOTHE)
('e' --> 'i')MORIR (TO DIE)
('o' --> 'u')PRESENT TENSE PRETERITE TENSE PRESENT TENSE PRETERITE TENSE Yo
Tu
Él
Nosotros
Vosotros
Ellosvisto
vistes
viste
vestimos
vestís
vistenvestí
vestiste
vistió
vestimos
vestisteis
vistieronmuero
mueres
muere
morimos
morís
muerenmorí
moriste
murió
morimos
moristeis
murieron - Preterite orthographic changes:
- Verbs ending in –zar: “z” changes to “c” (before “e”).
Finalizar: finalicé – finalizaste – finalizó – finalizamos – finalizasteis – finalizaron
- Verbs ending in –car: “c” changes to “gu” (before “e”).
Aparcar: aparqué – aparcaste – aparcó – aparcamos – aparcasteis – aparcaron
- Verbs ending in –gar: “g” changes to “gu” (before “e”)
Apagar: apagué – apagaste – apagó – apagamos – apagasteis – apagaron
- Verbs ending in –aer, -eer, -oer, -uir and - oir à “-ió” and “-ieron” become “-yó” and “-yeron” (3rd person singular and plural). The rest (yo – tu – usted – nosotros – vosotros ) gain an accent on letter i. (í):
Caer: caí – caíste - cayó – caímos – caísteis - cayeron
Creer: creí – creíste - creyó – creímos – creísteis - creyeron
Roer: roí – roíste - royó – roímos – roísteis - royeron
Huir: huí – huiste - huyó – huimos – huisteis – huyeron (*)
Oír : oí – oíste - oyó – oímos – oísteis – oyeron
(*) – Verbs ending in –uir: the accent on letter “i” only for first person singular (yo). - Verbs ending in –cir have a different conjugation for the preterite tense:
Conducir
Yo conduje
Tu condujiste
El / Ella condujo
Nosotros condujimos
Vosotros condujisteis
Ellos / Ustedes condujeron
There are three verbs that, although they do not end in –cir, they also have this irregular conjugation: Traer, Atraer and Distraer.
As always, for any question or comment, feel free to e-mail me.
¡Hasta pronto!
Angeles F.
'Click and listen' glossary: (alphabetical order):
apagar = to turn off
aparcar = to park
atraer = to attract
caer = to fall
cerrar = to close
conducir = to drive
creer = to think, to believe
distraer = to distract
entender = to understand
finalizar = to finish, to end
huir= to run away, to escape
oir = to hear
¿Preparados? = Ready?
roer = to gnaw
traer = to bring
vestir = to clothe
morir = to die
Recommended material:
- Verbs ending in –zar: “z” changes to “c” (before “e”).
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