Table of Contents |
There are many irregular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish. While the list is long, there are ways to help you learn these verbs and commit them to memory.
To begin the lesson:
Fortunately, most irregular preterite verbs use the same endings. With a couple of exceptions that will be noted later in this lesson, irregular preterite verbs share the endings shown below. Note the lack of written accent marks:
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
| yo _____-e | nosotros / nosotras _____-imos |
| tú _____-iste | vosotros / vosotras _____-isteis |
| él / ella / usted _____-o | ellos / ellas / ustedes _____-ieron |
Once you have learned the preterite stem for each irregular verb, you simply attach these endings to the irregular stem.
It is helpful to group irregular preterite verbs according to the type of changes that they have. When you are studying, it is also best to learn verbs with similar changes at the same time.
There are certain verbs that have a u in their irregular preterite stem that do not have a u in the infinitive. It is important to note two things about these irregular preterites:
Poder (can, to be able to):
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
|
| |
| yo pude | nosotros / nosotras pudimos |
| tú pudiste | vosotros / vosotras pudisteis |
| él / ella / usted pudo | ellos / ellas / ustedes pudieron |
Along with poder, the table below lists five other verbs that also have a u in the irregular preterite stem. Once you learn the endings shown above along with the stems listed below, you will be able to conjugate any of those verbs correctly in the preterite. The table below shows each irregular preterite stem along with the yo form. The remaining forms will take the same endings that were shown for poder above.
| Audio |
Infinitive (English Meaning) |
Irregular Preterite Stem | Yo Form |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
poder (can / to be able to) (See Section 2 of this lesson for slight change to meaning in the preterite.) |
pud- | pude |
|
|
poner (to put / to place) |
pus- | puse |
|
|
tener (to have) |
tuv- | tuve |
|
|
estar (to be) |
estuv- | estuve |
|
|
andar (to walk) |
anduv- | anduve |
|
|
saber (to know) (See Section 2 of this lesson for slight change to meaning in the preterite.) |
sup- | supe |
Did you notice that there were additional letter changes (besides the u) in the stems for all of the verbs listed above except poder? That is why memorizing the yo form for each verb is a good idea!
In the following dialogue, you will hear and see some sample sentences using irregular preterite verbs from the perspective of Eva. She is recounting her day to her mother on the phone. Listen and try to understand the conversation in Spanish before reviewing the English translation (located after the table).
| Speaker | Spanish |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Mamá: | ¿Te pusiste la chaqueta esta mañana? Hace frío. |
| Eva: | Sí, mamá. Me la puse. ¿Tuviste que trabajar temprano? No te vi antes. |
| Mamá: | Sí, tuve que salir a las cinco. ¿Pudieron (Did you manage) tú y tu amiga completar el proyecto para hoy? |
| Eva: | Sí, pero supimos (we learned / found out) que nuestra profesora está enferma. Vamos a entregárselo la semana que viene. |
Now you’ll learn the verbs that have an i in the stem in their irregular preterite forms but did not have an i in the infinitive. We’ll use venir as a sample verb. Note that the new preterite stem vin- is in each form and that the endings are the same as those in the section above.
Venir (to come):
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
|
| |
| yo vine | nosotros / nosotras vinimos |
| tú viniste | vosotros / vosotras vinisteis |
| él / ella / usted vino | ellos / ellas / ustedes vinieron |
In the table below, you will see the irregular preterite stem and the yo form of two other verbs that have an i in the preterite stem: querer and hacer. The other forms will take the same endings that were shown for venir in the table above.
| Audio |
Infinitive (English Meaning) |
Irregular Preterite Stem | Yo Form |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
venir (to come) |
vin- | vine |
|
|
querer (to want / to love) (See Section 2 of this lesson for slight change to meaning in the preterite.) |
quis- | quise |
|
|
hacer (to do / to make) |
hic- | hice |
EXAMPLE
|
|
Diego hizo la cama esta mañana. (Diego made the bed this morning.) |
Let’s rejoin Eva and her mom. Listen to the conversation and see if you can pick out the irregular preterite verbs. A translation of the dialogue is provided after the table.
| Speaker | Spanish |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Mamá: | ¿Hiciste la tarea para la clase de química? Yo sé que es difícil. |
| Eva: | Sí, la hice, pero no la comprendí bien. Quise (I tried to) estudiar con una amiga ayer por la tarde, pero ella tuvo que salir para trabajar. |
| Mamá: | ¿Cómo se llama tu amiga? |
| Eva: | Se llama Cristina. Ella vino a nuestra casa el viernes pasado. |
Next, you’ll learn the verbs that have a j in the stem in their irregular preterite forms but did not have a j in the infinitive. We’ll use traer as a sample verb. Note that the new preterite stem traj- is in each form and that five out of six endings are the same as those in the section above. Here is the one difference: The third-person plural ending (ustedes / ellos / ellas) does not have an i in it. It is -eron.
Traer (to bring):
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
|
| |
| yo traje | nosotros / nosotras trajimos |
| tú trajiste | vosotros / vosotras trajisteis |
| él / ella / usted trajo | ellos / ellas / ustedes trajeron |
| Note that the third person plural ending for verbs with a j in the stem is -eron. |
In the table below, you will see the irregular preterite stem and the yo form of other verbs with this change. The other forms will take the same endings that were shown for traer in the table above.
| Audio |
Infinitive (English Meaning) |
Irregular Preterite Stem | Yo Form |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
traer (to bring) |
traj- | traje |
|
|
decir (to say / to tell) |
dij- | dije |
|
|
conducir (to drive / to conduct) |
conduj- | conduje |
|
|
traducir (to translate) |
traduj- | traduje |
|
|
producir (to produce) |
produj- | produje |
Now, back to Eva and her mom.
| Speaker | Spanish |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Mamá: | Ah, sí. Cristina es la chica que te llevó a la universidad cuando tu carro no arrancó. ¿Me dijiste que su especialización es la enfermería? |
| Eva: | Sí. Por eso ella saca buenas notas en las clases de ciencias. Voy a darle algo por su ayuda. ¿Pudo comprar papá los chocolates que nos gustan? |
| Mamá: | Creo que sí. |
| Eva: | Bueno. Voy a dárselos a Cristina. La última vez que vino a nuestra casa me dijo que son sus favoritos. |
These two frequently-used verbs actually have the same conjugation in the preterite. Note that these endings are not the same as the other verbs you have seen in this lesson.
Ir (to go) / Ser (to be):
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
|
audio (78).mp3
| |
| yo fui | nosotros / nosotras fuimos |
| tú fuiste | vosotros / vosotras fuisteis |
| él / ella / usted fue | ellos / ellas / ustedes fueron |
You will be able to determine which verb is being used based on the context. Note how the preterite forms of ser and ir are used by Eva and her mom in their conversation the next day:
| Speaker | Spanish |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Mamá: | ¿Cómo te fue hoy? (How did it go? - ir) |
| Eva: | Pues, tuve mucho que hacer. Fui (I went - ir) a la universidad a las ocho, asistí a cuatro clases, fui (I went - ir) a la biblioteca para estudiar y trabajé por dos horas. Fue (It was - ser) un día muy atareado. |
The verb dar means “to give.” You have seen examples with it and will learn more about it in a future lesson. For now, learn its irregular preterite forms. Note that none of the forms carries written accent marks.
Dar (to give):
| Singular | Plural |
|---|---|
|
audio (79).mp3
| |
| yo di | nosotros / nosotras dimos |
| tú diste | vosotros / vosotras disteis |
| él / ella / usted dio | ellos / ellas / ustedes dieron |
Let’s see how Eva’s conversation with her mom ended. In this conversation, you will notice both regular and irregular verbs in the preterite.
| Speaker | Spanish |
|---|---|
|
| |
| Mamá: | ¿Le diste a Cristina los chocolates? |
| Eva: | Sí, se los di. Ella me dio su horario para la semana que viene y me dijo que podemos estudiar juntas pronto. |
| Mamá: | ¿Fuiste a la fiesta de cumpleaños de Carlos esta noche? |
| Eva: | Sí, pero salí temprano para hacer mi trabajo escolar. |
| Mamá: | ¿Conociste muchos invitados en la fiesta? ¿Bailaste? ¿Comiste pastel? |
| Eva: | Mamá, tengo mucho que hacer. Nos hablamos mañana. |
There are four verbs that have a slight change in meaning in the preterite compared to the present tense. Three of them are irregular verbs that you have already practiced using in this lesson. The other is conocer, which has a regular conjugation in the preterite.
It really is not so much that they have a new meaning; it is simply that the meaning in the preterite is more focused on a completed action (or a failed action). In other words, the meanings are more action-oriented and geared towards specific events. Again, you have already seen some of these in use in this lesson.
|
Spanish Infinitive (Present Tense Meaning) |
Preterite Tense Meaning | Audio |
Example (Translation) |
|---|---|---|---|
|
conocer (to know / to be familiar with) |
met for the first time |
|
Conocí a mi mejor amiga en la primaria. (I met my best friend in elementary school.) |
|
saber (to know / to know a fact or know how to do something) |
learned / found out |
|
Supimos hoy que no vamos a tomar un examen final. (We found out today that we will not be taking a final exam.) |
|
querer (to want / to love) |
Affirmative: tried to / attempted Negative: refused to |
|
David quiso llamarme, pero no pudo por su mala conexión. (David tried to call me, but he couldn’t due to his bad connection.) Yo no quise hablar nada más con mi hermana sobre mi novio. (I refused to talk to my sister anymore about my boyfriend.) |
|
poder (to be able to / can) |
Affirmative: managed to / succeeded Negative: failed to |
|
Pudimos completar la tarea para hoy. (We managed to complete the homework for today.) Ellos no pudieron hacer ejercicio hoy. (They failed to exercise today.) |
After learning the subtle changes in meaning that these four verbs have in the preterite, many students ask, “How will I be able to express their original meaning in the past tense? Is it possible to say, ‘I knew…,’ ‘I loved…,’ ‘I wanted…,’ ‘I could…’?” Yes, it is! You will learn another type of past tense, called the imperfect, later on in this course. It will allow you to express those exact sentiments.
For now, let’s practice using these four verbs in the preterite.
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