Book #1, Chapter #9, Grammar, Set #1

Question 1

Conjugate tener, venir, and decir in the preterite.

Answer 1

Tener:

yo tuve
tú tuviste
ud./el/ella tuvo

nosotros/as tuvimos
vosotros/as tuvisteis
uds./ellos/ellas tuvieron

Venir:

yo vine
tú viniste
ud./el/ella vino

nosotros/as vinimos
vosotros/as vinisteis
uds./ellos/ellas vinieron

Decir:

yo dije
tú dijiste
ud./el/ella dijo

nosotros/as dijimos
vosotros/as dijisteis
uds./ellos/ellas dijeron

Note that the ending of these verbs are the regular preterite endings of -er/-ir verbs except for the yo and usted/él/ella forms.

Question 2

What other verbs have similar stem changes to tener, venir, and decir in the preterite?

Answer 2

Poder:
u-stem: pud-
forms: pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron

Poner:
u-stem: pus-
forms: puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron

Saber:
u-stem: sup-
forms: supe, supiste, sudo, supimos, supisteis, supieron

Estar:
u-stem: estuv-
forms: estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron

Querer:
u-stem: quis-
forms: quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron

Hacer:
u-stem: hic-
forms: hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron

Traer:
u-stem: traj-
forms: traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron

Conducir:
u-stem: conduj-
forms: conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, condujisteis, condujeron

Traduci:
u-stem: traduj-
forms: traduje, tradujiste, tradujo, tradujimos, tradujisteis, tradujeron

Question 3

What is the special rule about most verbs that end in -cir in their infinitive forms when conjugated in the preterite?

Answer 3

They are mostly j-stem verbs in the preterite. For example, proudcir -> produje, produjiste, etc.

Note that preterites with j-stems omit the letter i in hte ustedes/ellos/ellas form.

Question 4

Conjugate the verb dar in the preterite.

Answer 4

yo dí
tu diste
ud./él/ella dio

nosotros/as dimos
vosotros/as disteis
uds./ellos/ellas dieron

Note that the endings for dar are the same as the regular preterite endings for -er and -ir verbs, except there are no accent marks.

Question 5

What is the preterite of haber?

Answer 5

“hubo” (“there was, there were”).

Question 6

Which verbs change meaning in the preterite and what are those alternate meanings?

Answer 6

Conocer:
Present -> to know, to be acquainted with
Preterite -> to meet

Saber:
Present -> to know how to do something
Preterite -> to find out; to learn

Poder:
Present -> to be able; can
Preterite -> to manage; to succeed (could and did)

Querer:
Present -> to want; love
Preterite -> to try

Question 7

What are the special rules about using “que” versus using “cuál”?

Answer 7

Using “qué” versus using “cuál” is much like the difference between using “what” and “which”. “Que” asks for a definition or explanation (“What is flan?”, “What do you study?”), while “cual” (or “cuáles”) is used when there is more than one possibility to choose from (“Which of these (two) do you prefer, wine or champagne?”, “Which ones are your socks, the black ones or the white ones?”)

However, “¿cuál?” should not be used before a noun; use “¿que?” instead:

“¿Qué sorpresa te dieron tus amigos?”: What surprise did your friends give you?

“¿Qué colores te gustán?”: What colors do you like?

In these cases, que has the same meaning as cuál.

Question 8

What are the pronouns used after prepositions (indirect object pronouns)?

Answer 8

Singular:
mí
tí
ud.
él
ella

Plural:
nosotros/as
vosotros/as
uds.
ellos
ellas

Except for mí and tí, these pronouns are the same as the subject pronouns. “Mí” has an accent mark to distinguish it from the possessive “mi”.

The preposition “entre” is followed by “tú” and “yo” instead of tí and mí.

"”Papá va a sentarse entre tú and yo.”: Dad is going to sit between you and me.