1.
In this lesson you will learn to conjugate four important verbs in the preterite
tense: ser, ir, dar and hacer.
These four verbs are irregular; you must memorize them:
ser
ir
dar
hacer
fui
fui
di
hice
fuiste
fuiste
diste
hiciste
fue
fue
dio
hizo
fuimos
fuimos
dimos
hicimos
fuisteis
fuisteis
disteis
hicisteis
fueron
fueron
dieron
hicieron
Note: This is not a typo; ser and ir do have identical conjugations in the preterite!
To review some of the rules for using the preterite:
The preterite is used for actions that can be viewed as single events.
The preterite is used for actions that were repeated a specific number of
times.
The preterite is used for actions that occurred during a specific period of
time.
The preterite is used for actions that were part of a chain of events.
The preterite is used to state the beginning or the end of an action.
2. -ar and -er verbs that change their stem in the present tense do not change in
the preterite. They are conjugated just like other regular preterite verbs.
ENTENDER. CERRAR COMPARAR EN PRESENTE Y PASADO
-ir verbs that change their stem in the present tense do change in the preterite, but
in a different way. They change e:i and o:u in the third person, singular and plural.
Let's add two more flashcards for stem-changing verbs in the preterite: PREFERIR
DORMIR COMPARAR PRESENTE PASADO
-ir stem-changing verbs do change in the preterite (e:i and o:u third
person singular and plural)
3. In order to preserve the sound of the infinitive, a number of verbs change
orthographically (spelling) in the preterite tense. The following changes occur in the
"yo" form only:
Verbs that end in -gar change g to gu
Verbs that end in -car change c to qu
Verbs that end in -zar change z to c
EJEMPLOS
Cegar jugar colgar llegar pagar plegar regar rogar tragar vagar
Aparcar buscar clarificar clasificar destacar empacar justificar practicar sacar tocar
Tropezarse almorzar autorizar cazar comenzar cruzar empezar forzar organizar
simbolizar
*For verbs that end in -aer, -eer, -or, and -oer, the l/ella/usted forms use the ending
"y" (rather than i) and the third person plural uses the ending "yeron" (rather
than ieron). The remaining forms gain a written accent over the letter "i."
EJEMPLOS. Caer leer or poseer proveer roer creer. EXEPCIONES. Traer distraer
atraer.
*Verbs that end in -uir change in the same way, but the written accent over the
letter "i" only occurs in the yo form. EJEMPLO: huir construir contribuir destruir fluir
incluir
4. The following verbs are irregular in the preterite and must be memorized:
decir
traer
ver
dije
traje
vi
dijiste
trajiste
viste
dijo
trajo
vio
dijimos
trajimos
vimos
dijisteis
trajisteis
visteis
dijeron
trajeron
vieron
Also like traer: atraer detraer distraer extraer retraer maltraer sustraer.
*Verbs that end in -ucir are irregular and conjugated as follows:
producir
produje
produjiste
produjo
produjimos
produjisteis
produjeron
OTROS. CONDUCIR COPRODUCIR DEDUCIR INDUCIR INTRODUCIR REDUCIR
TRADUCIR.
5. A number of verbs that are irregular in the preterite follow a particular
pattern. While their stems change, they all take the following endings:
-e, -iste, -o, -imos, -ieron
Here are the verbs, along with their corresponding stem changes:
Infinitive
Stem
Change
andar
anduv-
estar
estuv-
tener
tuv-
caber
cup-
haber
hub-
poder
pud-
poner
pus-
saber
sup-
hacer
hic-
querer
quis-
venir
vin-
Note: The one exception is the third person singular of hacer. As you learned in a
previous lesson, the c changes to z to form "hizo."
