2.7 Lesson Flashcards

Common verbs irregular in the preterite (past) tense

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1
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I looked for my shoes in every room in this house

A

Busqué mis zapatos en cada cuarto de esta casa

to look for - buscar. Note that buscar, like other -car ending verbs will change its stem from -c- to -qu- in the first person preterite

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2
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I already explained to you a thousand times how to do this

A

Ya te expliqué mil veces cómo hacer esto

to explain - explicar. Follows the same -c- to -qu- base change pattern as buscar

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3
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I practiced a lot, but you’re still better than I am

A

Practiqué mucho, pero todavía eres mejor que yo

to practice - practicar.

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4
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I used to have a lot of problems with that car, so I sold it

A

Tenía muchos problemas con ese carro, entonces lo vendí

problem - el problema

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5
Q

Translate to Spanish.

My husband never listens to me

A

Mi esposo nunca me escucha

to listen to - escuchar. Note that while in English, we use the preposition “to”, in Spanish no preposition is necessary with the verb escuchar

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6
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I am going to wait for my sister before going to the store

A

Voy a esperar a mi hermana antes de ir a la tienda

to wait for - esperar. Note that while in English, we use the preposition “for”, in Spanish no preposition is necessary. (In this sentence, a mi hermana simply uses a “personal a”)

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7
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I hope so

A

Espero que sí

to hope - esperar. Note that the word esperar means both “to hope” and “to wait”

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8
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I took out the garbage last night

A

Saqué la basura anoche

garbage - la basura. Remember that sacar means “to take out”

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9
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I already handed in my homework, did you?

A

Ya entregué mi tarea, ¿y tú?

to hand in, to hand over - entregar

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10
Q

Translate to Spanish.

When I arrived home, my brother called to say that I didn’t pay for my drinks. I was so embarassed!

A

Cuando llegué a casa, mi hermano me llamó para decir que no pagué por mis bebidas. ¡Qué vergüenza!

to pay - pagar

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11
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I was angry with my sister, so I didn’t hug her

A

Estaba enojado con mi hermana; por eso no la abracé

to hug - abrazar. Note that abrazar like other -zar ending verbs, changes its stem from -z- to -c- in the first person preterite

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12
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I already began cooking, are you very hungry?

A

Ya empecé a cocinar, ¿tienes mucha hambre?

to begin - empezar. Follows the same -z- to -c- base change pattern as abrazar in the first person

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13
Q

Translate to Spanish.

This bread is too sweet because Carlos substituted half a cup of sugar for half a cup of salt

A

Este pan está demasiado dulce porque Carlos substituyó media taza de sal por media taza de azúcar

to substitute with - substituir por. Note that verbs like substituir, such as construir, change from -i- to -y- in the third person singular and plural (él, ellos).

Also note that the antecedents of the verb substituir por are in a different order than they would be in the English of “substitute for”. It’s as if por in Spanish would really have been the word “with” in English, not “for”.

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14
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Eduardo fell and broke his leg

A

Eduardo se cayó y se rompió la pierna

to fall - caerse. Follows the same -i- to -y- base change pattern as substituir in the third person singular and plural

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15
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Sir, you dropped something

A

Señor, se le cayó algo

to drop - caerse (a alguien). Note that Spanish doesn’t really have a verb “to drop” but uses caer (“to fall”) and makes it sound unintentional using the indirect agency sentence construction

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16
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I like you (as a friend)

A

Tú me caes bien

Note that to express “liking” someone (as a friend) in Spanish, we say that someone “falls well” for another person. E.g. Le caigo bien - “He likes me” (“I fall well for him”)

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17
Q

Translate to Spanish.

María does not like Julia

A

A María le cae mal Julia OR Julia le cae mal a María

to not like (as friend) - caerle mal. Note that we can use either of the two sentence orders. We can also say no le cae bien instead of le cae mal

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18
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Lucia was not prepared for the test, and it didn’t go well for her

A

Lucia no estaba preparada para el exámen, y no le fue bien

prepared - preparado

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19
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Marcos drove that truck for fifteen hours

A

Marcos condujo ese camión por quince horas

truck - el camión. Note that conducir, like other verbs ending in -ducir, has several irregularities in the preterite tense. Also note that many speakers use the word manejar to mean “to drive”

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20
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Ana read in the newspaper that it was going to snow

A

Ana leyó en el periódico que iba a nevar

newspaper - el periódico

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21
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Isn’t it so that you love this skirt? (i.e. Don’t you love…)

A

¿A qué no te encanta esta falda?

isn’t it so? - ¿a qué no?, ¿no es así?

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22
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Did you already read this news story? Isn’t it ridiculous?

A

¿Ya leiste esta noticia? ¿A qué no es ridícula?

a news item - una noticia

23
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Did you already see the news? A man fell in front of a truck

A

¿Ya viste las noticias? Un hombre se cayó en frente de un camión

news - las noticias

24
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Look! It’s the journalist from my favorite newspaper

A

¡Mira! Es el periodista de mi periódico favorito

journalist - el periodista. Note that words ending in -ista are masculine unless referring specifically to a female (e.g. la periodista)

25
Q

Translate to Spanish.

It’s the rainy season in Mexico

A

Es la temporada de lluvia en México

season (event, crop) - temporada. Note that estación is usually used when talking about the four main seasons (fall, winter, summer, and spring), whereas temporada refers to a crop season or an event (rain season, snow season, baseball season, etc.)

26
Q

Translate to Spanish.

They produced a lot of tomatoes in this season

A

Ellos produjeron muchos tomates en esta temporada

to produce - producir. Follows the same irregular conjugation pattern as conducir

27
Q

Translate to Spanish.

My grandfather doesn’t produce tomatoes, but he produces onions

A

Mi abuelo no produce tomates, sino que produce cebollas

but, rather (when contradicting) - sino que. Note that sino is used when:

when the part of the sentence before the conjunction is stated in the negative, and
when the part after the conjunction directly contradicts what is negated in the first part

To put it mathematically, sino is used for “but” in sentences of type “not A but B”, where B contradicts A

28
Q

Translate to Spanish.

It is neither rain season nor snow season

A

No es ni temporada de lluvia ni temporada de nieve

neither…nor - ni…ni

29
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Either this journalist forgot the truth, or he lied

A

O a este periodista se le olvidó la verdad, o mintió

either…or - o…o

30
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Last night we introduced our classmate Victoria to our family

A

Anoche presentamos nuestra compañera Victoria a nuestra familia

classmate - el/la compañero(a)

31
Q

Translate to Spanish.

TO DRIVE (Preterite)

  • I drove
  • You drove
  • He/She drove
  • We drove
  • You drove
  • We drove
A

CONDUCIR (Tiempo Pretérito)

  • Yo conduje
  • condujiste
  • El/Ella/ Ud condujo
  • Nosotros condujimos
  • Vosotros condujisteis
  • Ellos/Ellas/Uds condujeron
32
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I translated this article from Spanish into English for my class

A

Traduje este artículo del español al inglés para mi clase

article - el artículo. Note the irregular preterite form of traducir (“to translate”), conjugated like conducir (“to drive”)

33
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Maybe I write that article

A

Tal vez escribo ese artículo

maybe - tal vez, quizás

34
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Pancho preferred going out alone than with us

A

Pancho prefirió salir solo que con nosotros

to prefer - preferir. Follows the same -e- to -i- bas change pattern as pedir in the preterite

35
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Those men followed us from the car to the restaurant. We were very scared

A

Esos hombres nos siguieron desde el carro hasta el restaurante. Tuvimos mucho miedo

to follow - seguir.

36
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I (f.) felt very abandoned when you left

A

Me sentí muy abandonada cuando te fuiste

abandoned - abandonado

37
Q

Translate to Spanish.

TO ASK FOR (Preterite)

  • I asked
  • You asked
  • He/She asked
  • We asked
  • You asked
  • They asked
A

PEDIR (Tiempo Pretérito)

  • Yo pedí
  • Tú pediste
  • El/Ella/Ud pid
  • Nosotros pedimos
  • Vosotros pedisteis
  • Ellos/Ellas/Uds pidieron
38
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Esteban slept in that bed, not in this one

A

Esteban durmió en esa cama, no en ésta

bed - la cama. Note that dormir undergoes a stem change from -o- to -u- in the third person singular and plural of the preterite

39
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Today was a sad day; many children died

A

Hoy fué un día triste; muchos niños murieron

to die - morir. Follows the same -o- to -u- base change pattern as dormir in the preterite tense

40
Q

Translate to Spanish.

TO SLEEP (Preterite)

  • I slept
  • You slept
  • He/She slept
  • We slept
  • You slept
  • They slept
A

DORMIR (Tiempo Pretérito)

  • Yo dormí
  • Tú dormiste
  • El/Ella/Ud durm
  • Nosotros dormimos
  • Vosotros dormisteis
  • Ellos/Ellas/Uds durmieron
41
Q

Translate to Spanish.

I went to your office, but you weren’t there

A

Fui a tu oficina, pero no estabas allí

office - la oficina

42
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Did you buy the furniture for your new office yet?

A

¿Ya compraste los muebles para tu nueva oficina?

furniture - los muebles. Note that Spanish uses the plural muebles (literally, “pieces of furniture”) where English uses a singular noun to describe all furniture

43
Q

Translate to English.

  • Yo quería viajar
  • Yo quise viajar
A
  • Quería viajar means “I wanted to travel”
  • Quise viajar means “I tried to travel” (but probably failed)
44
Q

Translate to Spanish.

We didn’t bring your things; we forgot them

A

No trajimos tus cosas; las olvidamos

to bring - traer. Note that verbs like traer undergo a base change from -ae- to -aj- in the preterite tense

45
Q

Translate to Spanish.

TO BRING (Preterite)

  • I brought
  • You brought
  • He/She brought
  • We brought
  • You brought
  • They brought
A

TRAER (Tiempo Pretérito)

  • Yo traje
  • trajiste
  • El/Ella/Ud trajo
  • Nosotros trajimos
  • Vosotros trajisteis
  • Ellos/Ellas/Uds trajeron
46
Q

Translate to Spanish.

When I heard a loud noise, I called my parents

A

Cuando un ruido fuerte, llamé a mis padres

I heard -

47
Q

Translate to Spanish.

You didn’t hear about what Pamela did, right?

A

No oíste lo que hizo Pamela, ¿verdad?

you heard - oíste

48
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Maite is very embarassed because Roberto heard her talking about him

A

Maite está muy avergonzada porque Roberto la oyó hablando de él

he/she heard - oyó

49
Q

Translate to Spanish.

We didn’t hear when you called our names

A

No oímos cuando llamaste nuestros nombres

we heard - oímos

50
Q

Translate to Spanish.

Didn’t you (vosotros) hear the noise that was coming from that house?

A

¿No oísteis el ruido que venía de esa casa?

you (vosotros) heard - oísteis

51
Q

Translate to Spanish.

They heard the phone ring

A

Oyeron sonar el teléfono

they heard - oyeron

52
Q

Translate to Spanish.

TO HEAR (Preterite)

  • I heard
  • You heard
  • He/She heard
  • We heard
  • You heard
  • They heard
A

OIR (Tiempo Pretérito)

  • Yo oí
  • Tú oíste
  • El/Ella/Ud o
  • Nosotros oímos
  • Vosotros oísteis
  • Ellos/Ellas/Uds oyeron
53
Q

Translate to Spanish.

What did he ask your secretary?

A

¿Qué le pidió a tu secretaria?

secretary - el/la secretario(a). Note that pedir undergoes an -e- to -i- stem change in the singular and plural 3rd person (él, ellos) of the preterite