Now that you have learned both the conjugations and how to use the preterite of regular verbs, we will move on to irregular verbs. You use the preterite of irregular verbs just as you use the regular verbs—to talk about an action or actions in the past that have a definite end point, that are completely over. Unfortunately, there are many verbs that are irregular in the preterite, and the only way to learn them is through repeated practice and memorization! In this section, we will look at a variety of different verbs that have irregular conjugations in the preterite.
dormir – to sleep (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo dormí |
nosotros dormimos |
2a |
tú dormiste |
vosotros dormisteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted durmió |
ellos/ellas/ustedes durmieron |
|
servir – to serve (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo serví |
nosotros servimos |
2a |
tú serviste |
vosotros servisteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted sirvió |
ellos/ellas/ustedes sirvieron |
|
pedir – to ask for (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo pedí |
nosotros pedimos |
2a |
tú pediste |
vosotros pedisteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted pidió |
ellos/ellas/ustedes pidieron |
|
In addition to the verbs you just learned, where one letter changes for third person conjugations, there are many more verbs who change more of the spelling of their stem. Below you can see several examples of very commonly used verbs that are irregular in the preterite. You will note that these verbs are a bit different than the preterite conjugations you have already learned as they do not need accent marks in the first and third person singular.
estar – to be (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo estuve |
nosotros estuvimos |
2a |
tú estuviste |
vosotros estuvisteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted estuvo |
ellos/ellas/ustedes estuvieron |
|
andar – to walk (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo anduve |
nosotros anduvimos |
2a |
tú anduviste |
vosotros anduvisteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted anduvo |
ellos/ellas/ustedes anduvieron |
|
ser – to be and ir – to go (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo fui |
nosotros fuimos |
2a |
tú fuiste |
vosotros fuisteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted fue |
ellos/ellas/ustedes fueron |
|
hacer – to do (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo hice |
nosotros hicimos |
2a |
tú hiciste |
vosotros hicisteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted hizo |
ellos/ellas/ustedes hicieron |
|
poner – to put (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo puse |
nosotros pusimos |
2a |
tú pusiste |
vosotros pusisteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted puso |
ellos/ellas/ustedes pusieron |
|
ver – to see (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo vi |
nosotros vimos |
2a |
tú viste |
vosotros visteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted vio |
ellos/ellas/ustedes vieron |
|
dar – to give (pretérito) |
|
singular |
plural |
1a |
yo di |
nosotros dimos |
2a |
tú diste |
vosotros disteis |
3a |
él/ella/usted dio |
ellos/ellas/ustedes dieron |
|
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