(7) Preterit: Verbs with Spell Changes

Question 1

Some regular preterit verbs have a spelling change in the yo form:

• Verbs that end in –car, -gar, -zar change in the yo form of the preterit to maintain the same sound as in the infinitive form. The rest of the forms keep the original consonant
• Stem-changing verbs like these are:
• Sacar **(to take out)
• Jugar **(to play)
• Llegar (to get)
• Pagar (to pay)
• Empezar **(to begin)
• Almorzar (lunch)
• Organizar (to organize)

Answer 1

Spell-Changing Verb → Yo, Tú, Él/Ella/Ud, Nosotros/Nosotras, Vosotros/Vosotras, Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

• Sa-car → Sa-qué, sacaste, sacó, sacomos, (sacasteis), sacaron
• • Ayer saqué un disco compacto Viejo para escuchario [Yesterday, I took out an old CD to listen to it].*
• Ju-gar → Ju-gué, jugaste, jugó, jugamos, (jugasteis), jugaron
• El fin de semana pasado jugué el tenis dos horas. [Last weekend I played tennis for two hours]
• Empe-zar → Empe-cé, empezaste, empezó, empezamos, (empezasteis), empezaron
• Empecé a practicar fútbol en marzo. [I started to practice soccer in March].

Question 2

Some regular preterit verbs have a spelling change in the third person forms (el, ella, Ud, ellos, ellas, Uds):

• In –er and –ir verbs whose stem ends with a vowel, the –i- becomes –y- in the third person singular and plural, as in the following examples
• Stem-changing verbs like these are:
• Caer (to fall)
• Leer (to read)
• Construir (to build)
• Oír (to hear)
• Incluír (to include)
• Distribuir (to distribute)

Answer 2

Spell-Changing Verb → Yo, Tú, Él/Ella/Ud, Nosotros/Nosotras, Vosotros/Vosotras, Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

• Caer → Caí, caíste, cayó, caímos, (caísteis), cayeron
• La pelota cayó fuera del campo de fútbol [The ball landed outside the soccer field]
• Leer → Leí, leiste, leyó, leímos, (leísteis), leyeron
• Marcos leyó en el periodic que estrenan la película mañana. [Marcos read in the newspaper that they’ll release the new movie tomorrow].
• Oír → Oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, (oísteis), oyeron
• No oyeron bien el concierto. [They did not hear the concert well].

Question 3

Some regular preterit verbs have a spelling change in the third person forms (el, ella, Ud, ellos, ellas, Uds):

• ir verbs that are stem-changing in the present tense also change in the third person singular and plural of the preterit. The –e in the stem changes to –i or the –o changes to –u.
• Stem-changing verbs like these are:
• Server **(serve)
• Pedir **(request)
• Dormir **(sleep)
• Morir **(dying)
• Repetir **(repeat)
• Preferir **(preferred)
• Sentir **(feeling)

Answer 3

Spell-Changing Verb → Yo, Tú, Él/Ella/Ud, Nosotros/Nosotras, Vosotros/Vosotras, Ellos/Ellas/Uds.

• Pedir → Pedí, pediste, pidió, pedimos, (pedisteis), pidieron
• Mi hermano me pidió mi guante de béisbol. [My brother aksed me for my baseball glove]
• Dormir → Dormí, dormiste, durmió, dormimos, (dormisteis), durmieron
• Eva no jugó bien porque solo durmió cuatro horas. [Eva did not play well becasue she only slept four hours]