Chapter 2
Topic 2 Irregular verbs in the Preterit Tense
We have learned some common verbs that have irregular preterit forms.
Some Irregular Verbs in the Preterit Tense
| Pronoun | Estar (to be) | Tener
(to have) |
Ser (to be) | Ir (to go) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yo | estuve | tuve | fui | fui |
| Tú | estuviste | tuviste | fuiste | fuiste |
| Ud./El/ella | estuvo | tuvo | fue | fue |
| Nosotros | estuvimos | tuvimos | fuimos | fuimos |
| Uds./ellos/as | estuvieron | tuvieron | fueron | fueron |
Ser (to be) and Ir (to go) are irregular verbs that are identical when conjugated in the preterit tense. Context will help decide which of the two, to be or to go, is used.
| Subject Pronoun | Ser (to be) |
|---|---|
| Yo | fui cuidadosa. |
| I | was careful. |
| Tú | fuiste buena amiga |
| You | were a good friend. |
VS
| Ir (to go) |
| Fui a la cafetería. |
| I went to the cafetería. |
| Fuiste a la playa. |
| You went to the beach. |
Dar (to give) and Ver (to see) have similar irregular conjugations in the preterit.
| Pronoun | Dar (to give) | Ver (to see) |
|---|---|---|
| Yo | di | vi |
| Tú | diste | viste |
| Ud./El/ella | dio | vio |
| Nosotros | dimos | vimos |
| Uds./ellos/as | dieron | vieron |
Other common irregular verbs in the preterit
- hacer (to do, make) yo hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicieron
- querer (to want), venir (to come to) follow the same stem pattern
- poner (to put) yo puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusieron
- poder (to be able), poner (to put, to place) follow the same stem pattern
- traer (to bring) yo traje, trajiste, trajo, traimos, trajeron
- decir (to say, to tell), traducir (to translate) have a “j” in the stem
- buscar (to look) yo busqué, buscaste, buscó buscamos buscaron
- llegar (to arrive) yo llegué, llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegaron
- comenzar (to start) yo comencé, comenzaste, comenzó, comenzamos comenzaron
Spell-change only affects the third person singular, (usted, él, ella) and third person plural (ustedes, ellos, ellas) forms.
- caer (t0 fall) caí, caíste, cayó, caímos, cayeron
- leer (to read) leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leyeron
- oír (to hear) oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oyeron
Stem Changing Verbs
From “e” to “ie” in the present tense change from “e” to “i” in the third person singular and plural forms of the preterit.
- preferir (to prefer) preferí, preferiste, prefirió, preferimos, prefirieron
From “o” to “ue” in the present tense change from “o” to “us” in the third person singular and plural forms of the preterit.
- dormir (to sleep) dormí, dormiste, durmió, dormimos, durmieron
From “e” to “i” in the present tense change from “e” to “i” in the third person singular and plural of the preterit.
- pedir (to ask) pedí, pediste, pidió pedimos, pidieron
- repetir (to repeat) repetí, repetiste, repitió, repetimos, repitieron
