The preterit of stem changing verbs Flashcards
Please tell me again,
what is the preterit?
It is to describe actitions that were completed at a specific point in time in the past. Yo fui al centro comercial ayer.
The preterit is used to talk about actions that can be viewed as single events. Los estudiantes se durmieron en la clase.
The preterit is used to describe a chain of events. Se levantó, se vestió y se fue a la escuela.
Now, let’s talk about stem changing verbs.
What are they?
Are the rules the same as the present tense
stem changing verbs?
Well, the preterit of stem changing verbs are NOT the same as their cousins in the present tense. The rules change.
PRESENT TENSE:
a) all three infinitives have stem changing verbs
b) stem changes apply to all subjects, except nosotros
PRETERIT TENSE:
a) only -ir ending verbs have stem changing verbs
b) only usted, él, ella, ustedes, ellos, ellas have this change
There is something
important that needs to be clarified.
a) The stem change applies to:
usted, él, ella, ustedes, ellos, ellas,
That also means that any third person singular or plural, including any combination of ustedes (Pancho y tú, Luisito y sus amigos….)
b) notice that NOT all verbs ending in -ir have stem changes. It is only a selected group of verbs.
Okay, if only some -ir ending verbs
have a stem change; then, what
are the conjugations for
-ir ending verbs in the preterit?
-ir ending conjugations
yo > -í nosotros, -as > -imos
tú > iste ustedes > -ieron
ud., él, ella > ió ellos, ellas > ieron
What are the stem change groups?
There are two groups:
Group 1
e > i
Group 2
o > u
Which verbs have these stem changes?
Group 1 Group 2
preferir dormir
pedir morir
sugerir
vestirse
divertirse
sentir
servir
repetir
The preterit conjugation of
preferir.
prefer_í_
preferiste
prefiri_ó_
preferimos
prefirieron
The preterit conjugation of
pedir.
ped_í_
pediste
pidi_ó_
pedimos
pidieron
The preterit conjugation
of sugerir.
suger_í_
sugeriste
sugiri_ó_
sugerimos
sugirieron
The preterit conjugation
of vestirse.
me vest_í_
te vestiste
se visti_ó_
nos vestimos
se vistieron
The preterit of
divertirse.
me divert_í_
te divertiste
se divirti_ó_
nos divertimos
se divirtieron
The preterit
of sentir.
sent_í_
sentiste
sinti_ó_
sentimos
sintieron
The preterit
of repetir.
repet_í_
repetiste
repiti_ó_
repetimos
repitieron
The preterit
of servir.
serv_í_
serviste
sirvi_ó_
servimos
sirvieron
The preterit
of dormir.
dorm_í_
dormiste
durmi_ó_
dormimos
durmieron
