(7) Preterit: Irregular Verbs

Question 1

Irregular preterit verbs are conjugated differently from regular preterit verbs, but have the same past tense meaning.

Answer 1

Ayer tuve un día muy activo. Hice ejercicio por la mañana y no conduje en todo el día. Anduve a todas partes y, por la noche, fui al cine con una amiga.

Yesterday I had a very active day. I exercised in the morning and I did not drive during the whole day. I walked everywhere and, in the evening, I went to the movies with a friend.

Question 2

Patterned Irregular Verbs: General

• Most irregular preterit verbs have spelling changes in their stems plus have their own set of endings. Most irregular preterit verbs are –er and –ir verbs whose endings and stems follow a pattern.
• The irregular preterit endings have some similarities with other preterit endings, but they don’t have accents.
• Most irregular preterit stems follow a pattern. They can be classified into three groups, u-stem, i-stem, and j-stem; all use the irregular preterit endings you’ve just seen

Answer 2

• Yo → -e
• Tú → -iste
• Él/Ella/Ud. → -o
• Nosotoros → -imos
• Vosotros → -isteis
• Ellos/Ellas/Uds. → -eron

Question 3

Patterned Irregular Verbs: U Stem

• Common U-stem verbs include:
• Andar (walk)
• Estar (be)
• Poder (power)
• Saber (know)
• Tener (have)
• Note that verbs ending in -tener follow the same pattern:
• Obtener (obtain)
• Detener (stop)
• Contener (contain)

Answer 3

Infinitive → U-Stem → Preterit (Yo, Tú, Él/Ella/Ud, Nosotros/Nosotras, Vosotros/Vosotras, Ellos/Ellas/Uds.)

• Andar → Anduv- → Anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, (anduvisteis), anduvieron
• Estar → Estuv- → Estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, (estuvisteis), estuvieron
• Poder → Pud- → Pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, (pudisteis), pudieron
• Saber → Sup- → Supe, supiste, supo, supimos, (supisteis), supieron
• Tener → Tuv- → Tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tvimos, (tuvisteis), tuvieron

Question 4

Patterned Irregular Verbs: I Stem

• Common I-stem verbs include:
• Hacer (do)
• Querer (want)
• Venir (come)

Answer 4

Infinitive → I-Stem → Preterit (Yo, Tú, Él/Ella/Ud, Nosotros/Nosotras, Vosotros/Vosotras, Ellos/Ellas/Uds.)

• Hacer→ Hic-/hiz– → Hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, (hicisteis), hicieron
• Querer → Quis- → Quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, (quisisteis), quisieron
• Venir → Vin- → Vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, (vinisteis), vinieron

Question 5

Patterned Irregular Verbs: J Stem

• Common J-stem verbs include:
• Conducir (lead)
• Decir (say)
• Traer (bring)
• Note that j-stem preterit drops the I in the ellos/ellas/ustedes form (condujeron, dijeron, trajeron). Also, the e in the stem of decir changes to i in the preterit (dij-).

Answer 5

Infinitive → J-Stem → Preterit (Yo, Tú, Él/Ella/Ud, Nosotros/Nosotras, Vosotros/Vosotras, Ellos/Ellas/Uds.)

• Conducir→ Conduj- → Conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, (condujisteis), condujeron
• Decir→ Dij- → Dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, (dijisteis), dijeron
• Traer→ Traj- →Traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, (trajisteis), trajeron

Question 6

Unique Irregular Preterit Verbs

A few irregular verbs in the preterit don’t follow a pattern, so have to be memorized individually.

Answer 6

Infinitive → Preterit (Yo, Tú, Él/Ella/Ud, Nosotros/Nosotras, Vosotros/Vosotras, Ellos/Ellas/Uds.)

• Ser/ir (be/go) → Fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, (fuisteis), fueron
• Dar (give) → Di, diste, dio, dimos, (disteis), dieron
• Ver (see) → Vi, viste, vio, vimos, (visteis), vieron