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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."

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