4.4.0: Gramática
Patrones de conjugación de los verbos irregulares en el pretérito
There are quite a few irregular preterit verbs. While that can seem overwhelming, they do follow several patterns. Review the 5 patterns below.
I. Irregular Verbs
As you might have noticed in the blog, the verbs ser and ir share the same conjugations in the preterit:
| yo fui | nosotros/as fuimos |
|---|---|
| tú/vos fuiste | vosotros/as fuisteis |
| él/ella/usted fue | ellos/ellas/ustedes fueron |
Use context to tell the two verbs apart in the preterit tense. Look at the two examples from the blog:
- Mis compañeros de viaje y yo fuimos a la playa. → You have already learned that ¨ir + a + location¨ is used to talk about where a person is going. The verb IR is used in this context.
- Fue una visita inolvidable. → You have already learned that ser is used for general descriptions. The verb SER is used in this context.
Use this chat mat as you converse with others:
Other verbs that are irregular, but do not follow any specific rules are ver and dar :
| yo vi | nosotros/as vimos |
|---|---|
| tú/vos v iste | vosotros/as visteis |
| él/ella/usted vio | ellos/ellas/ustedes vieron |
| yo di | nosotros/as d imos |
|---|---|
| tú/vos d iste | vosotros/as disteis |
| él/ella/usted dio | ellos/ellas/ustedes dieron |
II. Irregular Yo forms
Some verbs change their spelling in the yo form to maintain the same pattern of pronunciation:
- Verbs ending in -car : c –> qu.
Modelo:
tocar → yo toqué
Other common verbs that follow this model are:
- Buscar
- Practicar
- Tocar
- Verbs ending in -gar : g –> gu.
Modelo:
llegar → yo llegué
jugar → yo jugué
Other common verbs that follow this model are:
- Pagar
- Rogar
- Verbs ending in -zar : z –> c .
Modelo:
comenzar → yo comencé
Other common verbs that follow this model are:
- Empezar
- Almorzar
- Cruzar
III. Irregular third person forms
The following verbs change from -i to -y in the third person singular (él, ella, Ud.) and third person plural (ellos, ellas, Uds.). The rest of conjugations need a written accent on the i.
| yo leí | nosotros/as leímos |
|---|---|
| tú/vos leíste | vosotros/as leísteis |
| él/ella/usted le y ó | ellos/ellas/ustedes le y eron |
| yo oí | nosotros/as oímos |
|---|---|
| tú/vos oíste | vosotros/as oísteis |
| él/ella/usted o y ó | ellos/ellas/ustedes o y eron |
| yo creí | nosotros/as creímos |
|---|---|
| tú/vos creíste | vosotros/as creísteis |
| él/ella/usted cre y ó | ellos/ellas/ustedes cre y eron |
IV. Stem changing verbs
Remember stem-changing verbs? We learned about them in Unidad 2 - do you remember verbs that had stem changes inside the boot ? In this section you will learn a few rules about stem changes in the preterit tense.
Only -ir verbs stem change in the preterit.
-Ar and -er present tense stem changers maintain their original stem in the preterit. In other words, they do not stem change in the preterit tense - take a look at a few examples:
|
Infinitivo |
Presente (stem changes in -ar and -er verbs) |
Pretérito (no stem changes in -ar and -er verbs) |
| acostarse | yo me ac ue sto | yo me ac o sté |
| volver | él v ue lve | él v o lvió |
In the preterit tense of -ir verbs, only the third person singular and plural stem change (el/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes) - changes occur inside the sandal .
Stem changers go from e to i , or from o to u , regardless of their vowel change in present tense.
Modelo:
e → i
Common verbs that follow this model are:
- Servir ( serví, serviste, s i rvió, servimos, servisteis, s i rvieron )
- Preferir
- Repetir
- Seguir
- Sentirse
- Vestirse
o → u
Common verbs that follow this model are:
- Dormir ( dormí , dormiste , d u rmió , dormimos , dormisteis , d u rmieron )
- Morir
V. Strong Preterits
Completely irregular verbs in the preterit are also called strong preterits. They can be grouped by the letters they use to aid in memorization.
| I Group | V Group |
|---|---|
|
|
| J Group | U Group |
|
|
Even though they are irregular, you will notice that all of the strong preterits listed above follow a pattern with the same endings:
| e | imos |
| iste | isteis |
| o |
ieron *the J group ends in "eron" |