Irregular Verbs

  • Irregular verbs do not follow regular conjugation rules, and they must be memorized. It is important to note that for irregular verbs, there are no accent marks.

One-Syllable Verbs

  • Examples of one-syllable irregular verbs:
    • Ir (to go)
    • Ser (to be)
    • Dar (to give)
    • Ver (to see)
Conjugation of "Ir" and "Ser"

  • Ir:

    • fui (I went)
    • fuiste (you went)
    • fue (he/she/it went)
    • fuimos (we went)
    • fuisteis (you all went)
    • fueron (they went)

  • Ser:

    • fui (I was)
    • fuiste (you were)
    • fue (he/she/it was)
    • fuimos (we were)
    • fuisteis (you all were)
    • fueron (they were)
Conjugation of "Dar"
  • Dar:
    • di (I gave)
    • diste (you gave)
    • dio (he/she/it gave)
    • dimos (we gave)
    • disteis (you all gave)
    • dieron (they gave)
Conjugation of "Ver"
  • Ver:
    • vi (I saw)
    • viste (you saw)
    • vio (he/she/it saw)
    • vimos (we saw)
    • visteis (you all saw)
    • vieron (they saw)

Other Irregular Verbs

  • Irregular verbs with changes at both the beginning & end of the verb include:
    • tener → tuv
    • poner → pus
    • haber → hub
    • estar → estuv
    • poder → pud
    • saber → sup
    • decir* → dij
    • traer* → traj
    • andar → anduv
    • hacer → hic
    • querer → quis
    • venir → vin
Conjugation Details for Other Irregulars

  • Tener:

    • tuve (I had)
    • tuviste (you had)
    • tuvo (he/she/it had)
    • tuvimos (we had)
    • tuvisteis (you all had)
    • tuvieron (they had)

  • Hacer:

    • hice (I did/made)
    • hiciste (you did/made)
    • hizo (he/she/it did/made)
    • hicimos (we did/made)
    • hicisteis (you all did/made)
    • hicieron (they did/made)

  • Decir:

    • dije (I said)
    • dijiste (you said)
    • dijo (he/she/it said)
    • dijimos (we said)
    • dijisteis (you all said)
    • dijeron (they said)

  • Traer:

    • traje (I brought)
    • trajiste (you brought)
    • trajo (he/she/it brought)
    • trajimos (we brought)
    • trajisteis (you all brought)
    • trajeron (they brought)

"I→Y" Verbs

  • The verbs oír, creer, leer, caer, destruir, construir, and incluir are irregular in the usted/él/ella and ustedes/ellos/ellas forms.
  • Verbs ending in -uir do not have accent marks on tú, nosotros, or Uds. forms.
Conjugation of I→Y Verbs

  • Oír:

    • oí (I heard)
    • oímos (we heard)
    • oíste (you heard)
    • oísteis (you all heard)
    • oyó (he/she/it heard)
    • oyeron (they heard)

  • Destruir:

    • destruí (I destroyed)
    • destruimos (we destroyed)
    • destruiste (you destroyed)
    • destruisteis (you all destroyed)
    • destruyó (he/she/it destroyed)
    • destruyeron (they destroyed)

Stem Changers

  • Only -ir verbs have stem changes in the preterite, and there are only two types of stem changes:
    • o → u
    • e → i
  • The changes occur only in the forms usted/él/ella and ustedes/ellos/ellas.
Example of Stem Changers

  • Dormir (to sleep):

    • dormí (I slept)
    • dormiste (you slept)
    • durmió (he/she/it slept)
    • dormimos (we slept)
    • dormisteis (you all slept)
    • durmieron (they slept)

  • Divertirse (to have fun):

    • me divertí (I had fun)
    • te divertiste (you had fun)
    • se divirtió (he/she/it had fun)
    • nos divertimos (we had fun)
    • os divertisteis (you all had fun)
    • se divirtieron (they had fun)
What's Next If a Verb has More than One 'e'?
  • Change the 'e' that is closest to the verb ending (-ir).
Common Stem Changers
  • Common -ir stem changers include:
    • o → u: morir (to die)
    • e → i: preferir, mentir, sentir, pedir, competir, despedirse, repetir, seguir, servir, vestirse

El Pretérito

  • The preterite (el pretérito) is one of two past tenses in Spanish.

When Do We Use the Preterite?

  1. To express that an action is complete or happened once.

    • Example: Ayer dormí por 8 horas - "Yesterday I slept for 8 hours."
    • Example: Yo fui a California el año pasado - "I went to California last year."

  2. To express the beginning of an action.

    • Example: Estaba viendo la tele cuando empezó a llover - "I was watching TV when it began to rain."

  3. For actions that occurred during a specific time period.

    • Example: Yo viví dos años en España - "I lived in Spain for two years."

  4. For actions that are part of a series of events.

    • Example: Me desperté, me duché, desayuné y fui a la escuela - "I woke up, showered, ate breakfast, and went to school."

Regular Verbs (Endings)

Preterite Key Words (indicate specific time frames)
  • ayer = yesterday
  • anoche = last night
  • el otro día = the other day
  • la semana pasada = last week
  • el mes pasado = last month
  • el año pasado = last year
  • esta mañana = this morning
  • hace dos días = 2 days ago
  • en ese momento = at that moment
  • una vez = once
  • de repente = suddenly
  • entonces = then
Regular Verb Conjugations

  • Hablar (to talk):

    • hablé (I talked)
    • hablaste (you talked)
    • habló (he/she/it talked)
    • hablamos (we talked)
    • hablasteis (you all talked)
    • hablaron (they talked)

  • Comer (to eat):

    • comí (I ate)
    • comiste (you ate)
    • comió (he/she/it ate)
    • comimos (we ate)
    • comisteis (you all ate)
    • comieron (they ate)

-CAR, -GAR, -ZAR Verbs

  • Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar undergo a change in the yo form only.
    • -car: c → qu
    • -gar: g → gu
    • -zar: z → c
Conjugation Examples

  • Escribir (to write):

    • escribí (I wrote)
    • escribimos (we wrote)
    • escribiste (you wrote)
    • escribisteis (you all wrote)
    • escribió (he/she/it wrote)
    • escribieron (they wrote)

  • Examples of Common -CAR, -GAR, -ZAR Verbs:

    • sacar: yo saqué (I took out)
    • pagar: yo pagué (I paid)
    • almorzar: yo almorcé (I had lunch)
    • Other common verbs: buscar, tocar, explicar, llegar, jugar, comenzar, empezar.