We use the preterite to talk about past events and facts that happened at a specific point in the time. In order to form the preterite we need to remember certain rules. We previously looked at regular verbs in the preterite; . Regular verbs have three different endings in the infinitive form, so by applying this rule you can conjugate them all. Then we have the preterite irregular verbs. The changes in these verbs do not always follow a clear pattern and so you will need to memorize many of them.
Irregular Verbs in the Preterite - Verbos Irregulares
Many of the irregular Spanish verbs in the preterite follow the same pattern. They change the stem of the verb into a different stem, and then all of them add the same set of endings. These endings are different to the ones that regular preterite verbs in Spanish share.
Here you have some examples and a list of irregular verbs with their corresponding stems:
Example: TENER (to have)
| Preterite Stem | Preterite Ending | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | TUV | e | tuve |
| tú | TUV | iste | tuviste |
| Ud., él, ella | TUV | o | tuvo |
| nosotros(as) | TUV | imos | tuvimos |
| vosotros(as) | TUV | isteis | tuvisteis |
| Uds., ellos, ellas | TUV | ieron | tuvieron |
Here you have a list of irregular verbs and their stems in the preterite. To form the irregular verb, add the endings above to the preterite stems. E.g.: TUV + E = tuve
Note: The verbs whose stem in the preterite end in “j” (e.g.: Conducir = Conduj) add the ending “eron” instead of “ieron” in the 3 rd person plural. (Eg: Ellos condujeron por la noche).
| Irregular Verb | Preterite Stem |
|---|---|
| andar | anduv |
| venir | vin |
| estar | estuv |
| poder | pud |
| poner | pus |
| saber | sup |
| tener | tuv |
| hacer | hic (exception: Él/Ella/Usted = hizo) |
| venir | vin |
| querer | quis |
| decir | dij |
| traer | traj |
| conducir | conduj |
| producir | produj |
| traducir | traduj |
| detener | detuv |
| retener | retuv |
| contener | contuv |
| convenir | convin |
| prevenir | previn |
| componer | compus |
| descomponer | descompus |
| proponer | propus |
| disponer | dispus |
| predecir | predij |
| contradecir | contradij |
| deshacer | deshic |
| rehacer | rehic |
Other irregular verbs that follow a different pattern are: SER, IR, DAR and HABER
| SER | IR | DAR | |
|---|---|---|---|
| yo | fui | fui | di |
| tú | fuiste | fuiste | diste |
| É él/ella/Usted | fue | fue | dio |
| nosotros | fuimos | fuimos | dimos |
| vosotros | fuisteis | fuisteis | disteis |
| ellos, ellas, Uds. | fueron | fueron | dieron |
Notes & Exercises on the Spanish Preterite
- Notes on preterite with regular verbs.
- Notes on preterite with irregular verbs.
- Notes on orthographic changes with the preterite.
- Notes on other stem changing verbs with the preterite.
Grammar Exercises - Preterite
- Exercises for preterite regular verbs (pdf)
- Exercises for preterite irregular verbs (pdf)
- Exercises for preterite stem-changing verbs (pdf)
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Interactive Grammar Exercise
Complete the following sentences with the Preterite of the irregular verbs given in brackets.
Note: Try to use the correct written accents if you can e.g.: á, é, í, ó, ú, ñ, ü.
(Install "Spanish Characters" from the Chrome Web Store for easy use of accents)
If you don't know the correct answer, type '?' to reveal it.
1. Yo 
la dirección del restaurante en Google Maps. (buscar)
2. Yo a estudiar arquitectura en 2016. (empezar)
3. Yo 100 dólares por mis botas de invierno. (pagar)
4. ¿Tus padres a Australia el año pasado? (ir)
5. ¿Qué tú que comprar para tu viaje a Sudamérica? (tener)
6. Luis y su novia ir al concierto el sábado. (querer)
7. Niños ¿dónde ustedes los juguetes que compramos ayer? (poner)
8. ¿Qué tú el fin de semana pasado? (hacer)
9. Sara ensalada de frutas para los estudiantes esta mañana. (traer)
10. Nosotros en la casa de Pedro desde el viernes pasado. (estar)
11. Ellos a la biblioteca después de su entrenamiento. (venir)
12. ¿Ustedes a sus padres sobre la reunión de hoy? (decir)
13. Tú dos párrafos del texto para entender mejor. (traducir)
14. Gabriel García Marquéz un escritor colombiano muy famoso. (ser)
15. ¿Quién las lámparas de la oficina? (componer)
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