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The preterite is used to express an action or series of actions completed in the past. |
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|---|---|
| Compré un regalo. | - I bought a gift. |
| Después de levantarse, el muchacho salió al patio, vio dos ardillas,les dio algo de comer y entró otra vez en la casa. | After getting up, the boy went out to the patio, saw two squirrels, gave them something to eat, and entered the house again. |
| Ayer llovió. | - It rained yesterday. |
| The preterite is used to indicate the beginning or the end of an action that took place in the past. | |
| El hombre empezó a hablar. | - The man began to speak. |
| De repente, dejó de nevar. | - Suddenly, it stopped snowing. |
| The preterite is used to state a fact about an event or series of events that took place in a completed time period. | |
| Mi suegra sólo estuvo aquí quince minutos. | My mother-in-law was only here fifteen minutes. |
| El siglo XVIII fue un siglo de muchas revoluciones. | The eighteenth century was a century of many revolutions. |
Irregular Verbs in the Preterite |
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The irregular preterite endings are -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Note that irregular preterite endings have no written accents. It is necessary to memorize the irregular preterite stems. |
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a. The following common verbs have irregular stems in the preterite. To help in memorization, they have been grouped by some common stem irregularities. |
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1. uv in the preterite stem |
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andar |
to walk | anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron |
estar |
to be | estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron |
tener |
to have | tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron |
2. u in the preterite stem |
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caber |
to fit | cupe, cupiste, cupo, cupimos, cupisteis, cupieron |
poder |
to be able | pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron |
poner |
to put | puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron |
saber |
to know | supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron |
3. i in the perterite stem |
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hacer |
to do, make | hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron |
querer |
to want, love | quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron |
venir |
to come | vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron |
4. j in the preterite stem |
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decir |
to sat, tell | dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron |
reducir |
to reduce | reduje, redujiste, redujo, redujimos, redujisteis, redujeron |
traer |
to bring | traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron |
Note: Verbs endings in -cir, such as conducir, traducir, and producir, are conjugated like reducir. |
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The verbs dar, ser, and ir are completely irregular in the preterite and must be memorized. |
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dar |
to give | di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron |
ser |
to be | fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron |
ir |
to go | fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron |
Stem-changing verbs |
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|---|---|---|
Verbs ending in -ir change the preterite stem in the third person singular and plural forms. |
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a. Stem changes from o to u |
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morir |
to die | morí, moriste, murió, morimos, moristeis, murieron |
dormir |
to sleep | dormí, dormiste, durmió, dormimos, dormisteis, durmieron |
b. Stem changes from e to i |
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menitr |
to lie | mentí, mentiste, mintió, mentimos, mentisteis, mintieron |
divertirse |
to enjoy oneself, have fun | me divertí, te divertiste, se divirtió, nos divertimos, os divertisteis, se divirtieron |
sentirse |
to feel | me sentí, te sentiste, se sintió, nos sentimos, os sentisteis, se sintieron |
pedir |
to ask for, request | pedí, pediste, pidió, pedimos, pedisteis, pidieron |
reír |
to laugh | reí, reíste, rió, reímos, reísteis, rieron |
seguir |
to follow | seguí, seguiste, siguió, seguimos, seguisteis, siguieron |
All -ar verbs ending -car, -gar, and -zar change the spelling of the first person singular form. Remember that it is only the "yo" form of the verb that is irregular. All other forms carry the regular endings. |
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acercarse |
to approach | me acerqué |
buscar |
to look for | busqué |
explicar |
to explain | expliqué |
sacar |
to take out | saqué |
tocar |
to touch, play | toqué |
llegar |
to arrive | llegué |
pagar |
to pay | pagué |
negar |
to deny | negué |
entregar |
to deliver, hand over | entregué |
abrazar |
to embrace | abracé |
alzar |
to raise, lift | alcé |
comenzar |
to begin | comencé |
empezar |
to begin | empecé |
realizar |
to realize | realicé |
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