Más verbos irregulares en el pretérito (needs edit)

 

Several more of the verbs that you have already learned are also irregular in the preterite. In addition to having irregular conjugations, these verbs have a slightly different shade of meaning than their infinitive when they are used in the preterite. Below, you will see these verbs.

Conocer or “to know” means “to meet for the first time” in the preterite.

 

conocer – to meet for the first time (pretérito)
singular plural
1a yo conocí nosotros conocimos
2a tú conociste vosotros conocisteis
3a él/ella/usted conoció ellos/ellas/ustedes conocieron

For example:

 

tiempo presente: pretérito:
Play Audio Nosotros conocemos muy bien a Paco. Play Audio Nosotros conocimos a Juanita en la fiesta.

Saber or “to know” means “to realize/find out for the first time” in the preterite.

 

saber – to realize/find out for the first time (pretérito)
singular plural
1a yo supe nosotros supimos
2a tú supiste vosotros supisteis
3a él/ella/usted supo ellos/ellas/ustedes supieron

 

For example:

tiempo presente: pretérito:
Play Audio Yo sé que Miguel es médico. Play Audio Anoche supe que Vicente se casó con Ana.

Tener or “to have” means “to get” in the preterite.

 

tener – to get (pretérito)
singular plural
1a yo tuve nosotros tuvimos
2a tú tuviste vosotros tuvisteis
3a él/ella/usted tuvo ellos/ellas/ustedes tuvieron

 

For example:

tiempo presente: pretérito:
Play Audio Victor tiene un coche azul. people getting into a classic blue car

Foto: Adam Jones CC BY-SA 2.0
 Play Audio Maribel tuvo un boleto barato.

Querer or “to wish/want” means “to want (and try)” in the preterite. No querer means “to refuse” in the preterite.

 

querer – to want (and try) (pretérito)
singular plural
1a yo quise nosotros quisimos
2a tú quisiste vosotros quisisteis
3a él/ella/usted quiso ellos/ellas/ustedes quisieron

 

For example:

tiempo presente: pretérito:
Play Audio Quiero ir a la fiesta. Play Audio Quise ir a España.
Play Audio No quiero ver esa película.

Play Audio No quise hablar con Pablo.

man and woman facing away from each other on train

Foto: elisasizzle CC BY 2.0

Poder or “to be able to” means “to be able to (and to do/carry out)” in the preterite. No poder means “to try (but not be able to)” in the preterite.

 

poder -to be able to (and to do/carry out) (pretérito)
singular plural
1a yo pude nosotros pudimos
2a tú pudiste vosotros pudisteis
3a él/ella/usted pudo ellos/ellas/ustedes pudieron

 

tiempo presente: pretérito:
Play Audio Nosotros podemos bailar muy bien.

Play Audio Alejandro pudo llegar a la cima de los Andes.

man on top of a mountain

Foto: Art Today
Play Audio Ellos no pueden hablar francés. Play Audio Miguel no pudo terminar la tarea.

One thing that you might notice about the different shades of meaning between the present and preterite tense for the verbs querer and poder is that in the preterite, there is action implied in the verb. While in the present, querer indicates a desire to do something, in the preterite, you are indicating that you not only wanted to do something, but that you have either tried to carry out the action or have actively refused to do so (no querer). Likewise with poder. In the affirmative, you are indicating that you were not only able to do something, but that you did it, or, (no poder) that you tried, but were unsuccessful.

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Spanish I: Copyright © by Lumen Learning is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

Cover photo by Patrick McDonald, “La Gitana” is licensed under CC-BY-NC. Available on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/pat_mcdonald/8518195036/.

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