2.13: Los pretéritos irregulares
- Page ID
- 210683
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\(\newcommand{\avec}{\mathbf a}\) \(\newcommand{\bvec}{\mathbf b}\) \(\newcommand{\cvec}{\mathbf c}\) \(\newcommand{\dvec}{\mathbf d}\) \(\newcommand{\dtil}{\widetilde{\mathbf d}}\) \(\newcommand{\evec}{\mathbf e}\) \(\newcommand{\fvec}{\mathbf f}\) \(\newcommand{\nvec}{\mathbf n}\) \(\newcommand{\pvec}{\mathbf p}\) \(\newcommand{\qvec}{\mathbf q}\) \(\newcommand{\svec}{\mathbf s}\) \(\newcommand{\tvec}{\mathbf t}\) \(\newcommand{\uvec}{\mathbf u}\) \(\newcommand{\vvec}{\mathbf v}\) \(\newcommand{\wvec}{\mathbf w}\) \(\newcommand{\xvec}{\mathbf x}\) \(\newcommand{\yvec}{\mathbf y}\) \(\newcommand{\zvec}{\mathbf z}\) \(\newcommand{\rvec}{\mathbf r}\) \(\newcommand{\mvec}{\mathbf m}\) \(\newcommand{\zerovec}{\mathbf 0}\) \(\newcommand{\onevec}{\mathbf 1}\) \(\newcommand{\real}{\mathbb R}\) \(\newcommand{\twovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\ctwovec}[2]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\threevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cthreevec}[3]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfourvec}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\fivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{r}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\cfivevec}[5]{\left[\begin{array}{c}#1 \\ #2 \\ #3 \\ #4 \\ #5 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\mattwo}[4]{\left[\begin{array}{rr}#1 \amp #2 \\ #3 \amp #4 \\ \end{array}\right]}\) \(\newcommand{\laspan}[1]{\text{Span}\{#1\}}\) \(\newcommand{\bcal}{\cal B}\) \(\newcommand{\ccal}{\cal C}\) \(\newcommand{\scal}{\cal S}\) \(\newcommand{\wcal}{\cal W}\) \(\newcommand{\ecal}{\cal E}\) \(\newcommand{\coords}[2]{\left\{#1\right\}_{#2}}\) \(\newcommand{\gray}[1]{\color{gray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\lgray}[1]{\color{lightgray}{#1}}\) \(\newcommand{\rank}{\operatorname{rank}}\) \(\newcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\col}{\text{Col}}\) \(\renewcommand{\row}{\text{Row}}\) \(\newcommand{\nul}{\text{Nul}}\) \(\newcommand{\var}{\text{Var}}\) \(\newcommand{\corr}{\text{corr}}\) \(\newcommand{\len}[1]{\left|#1\right|}\) \(\newcommand{\bbar}{\overline{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bhat}{\widehat{\bvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\bperp}{\bvec^\perp}\) \(\newcommand{\xhat}{\widehat{\xvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\vhat}{\widehat{\vvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\uhat}{\widehat{\uvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\what}{\widehat{\wvec}}\) \(\newcommand{\Sighat}{\widehat{\Sigma}}\) \(\newcommand{\lt}{<}\) \(\newcommand{\gt}{>}\) \(\newcommand{\amp}{&}\) \(\definecolor{fillinmathshade}{gray}{0.9}\)Irregular preterites
By now we have learned the preterite past tense, including the conjugation of regular verbs, verbs with a spelling change to preserve their pronunciation, and stem-changing verbs. All of those groups of verbs use the same sets of endings (for -AR verbs or for -ER/-IR verbs) in the preterite, but may change a stem vowel or consonant. Now we’ll learn the irregular preterite verbs, which have irregular stems and irregular endings. You’ll note that none of the irregular preterite verbs have accent marks on their endings.
There are a lot of irregular verbs in the preterite, and you’ll need to pay close attention to small details that may change, for example sometimes the 3rd person plural ending is “-eron” instead of “-ieron”. It may help to remember them in sub-groups that have similar (not always identical!) irregularities:
- The -u- stem
- The -i- stem
- The -j- stem
Irregular stems in the preterit tense
In the chart below, the irregular stems are in bold.
-u- stem
| Verb | Irregular stem |
|---|---|
|
andar |
anduv- |
| caber | cup- |
|
estar |
estuv- |
|
haber |
hub- |
|
poder |
pud- |
|
poner, suponer, proponer |
pus-, supus-, propus- |
|
saber |
sup- |
|
tener |
tuv- |
-i- stem
| Verb | Irregular stem |
|---|---|
| hacer | hic- , hiz- (Use "z", instead of "c", in the conjugations of "usted", "él", and "ella".) |
| querer | quis- |
| venir | vin- |
-j- stem
| Verb | Irregular stem |
|---|---|
| conducir | conduj- |
| decir | dij- |
| producir | produj- |
| reducir | reduj- |
| traducir | traduj- |
| traer | traj- |
Irregular endings in the preterite tense
All verbs with irregular stems in the preterite, have the same set of endings when conjugated. Moreover, none of them need an accent mark. The verb conjugation for -u- stem and the -i- stem differs from the -j- stem in the 3rd person plural: "ustedes", "ellos", and "ellas" form, since verbs with -j- stem do not have an "i" in their ending. This spelling change is noted in bold in the chart below. Let’s review the chart below:
|
Subject |
The -u- and -i- stem |
The -j- stem |
Examples of verb conjugations |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Yo |
e |
e |
Yo: pude, hice, traje (poder, hacer, traer) |
|
Tú |
iste |
iste |
Tú: supiste, hiciste, condujiste (saber, hacer, conducir) |
|
Él/Ella/Usted |
o |
o |
Ud., Él, Ella: *hubo (pretérite for “hay”), (haber) hizo (hacer), condujo (conducir) |
|
Nosotros/as |
imos |
imos |
Nosotros/as: tuvimos, vinimos, produjimos (tener, venir, producir) |
|
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes |
ieron |
eron |
Ellos/Ellas/Uds.: pusieron, hicieron (poner, hacer) Ellos/Ellas/Uds.: trajeron, condujeron, produjeron, tradujeron, redujeron, dijeron (traer, conducir, producir, traducir, reducer, decir) |
Ejemplos
Hubo una fiesta de cumpleaños en la casa de Mariela.
Mi amiga Gabriela quiso ir pero no pudo. Ella tuvo que trabajar.
Anoche Mateo hizo ejercicio en el gimnasio.
Los amigos de Mariela le trajeron regalos para ella.
This page adapted from 7.2: Los pretéritos irregulares, parte 2 by M. Barrio De Mendoza, K Gutiérrez, H.Ho, C. Lin, & A Stere Lugo through ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative, licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0 / Slight rephrasing, reformatting and correction of typographical errors, incorporation of introductory paragraph from 5.7: Los verbos irregulares en el pretérito by Erica Brown, Alejandra Escudero, María Cristina Montoya, & Elizabeth Small (OER SUNY), which is licensed under CC BY 4.0.
Videolección
By clicking the icon below, you can hear a video lesson about irregular preterite forms and tricks to remember them.
¡A practicar!
Exercises adapted from 7.2.1: Práctica- Pretéritos irregulares, parte 2 by M. Barrio De Mendoza, K Gutiérrez, H.Ho, C. Lin, & A Stere Lugo (ASCCC Open Educational Resources Initiative), licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.