Chapter 8- Past Tense (Preterite)
-ar and -er stem-changing verbs in the preterite
Stem-changing verbs that end in -ar and -er are completely regular in the preterite. They do not change their stem in the preterite. despertar (despierto/I wake up): desperté despertaste depertó despertamos despertasteis despertaron Volver (vuelvo/I return): volví volviste volvió volvimos volvisteis volvieron
Nosotros form of the preterite
The nosotros form of regular -ar and -ir verbs in the preterite looks the same as the present tense form.
irregular verbs: ir (to go) and ser (to be) in the preterite
The preterite forms of ir and see are exactly the same. You can tell by context. Forms of ir are often followed by "a". ir and ser (to go and to be): fui fuiste fue fuimos fuisteis fueron
Accent Marks in the preterite
There are accent marks on 1st person singular (yo) and 3rd person singular (el/ella/ud.) in the preterite. They are present in almost all verbs. Ver is an exception: Vi: I saw (not ví) Vio: She saw (not vió)
Verbs ending in -car, -gar, and -zar are slightly irregular in the preterite.
These verbs have a spelling change in the first person singular (yo) of the preterite. The rest is the same. buscar: busqué buscaste buscó buscamos buscasteis buscaron pagar: pagué pagaste pagó pagamos pagasteis pagaron empezar: empecé empezaste empezó empezamos empezasteis empezaron
Unstressed "i" in the preterite
When there is an unstressed "i" between two vowels (an i without an accent mark), it changes to a "y" in the preterite. This occurs in verbs like creer and leer. creer: creí creíste creyó creímos creísteis creyeron leer: leí leíste leyó leímos leísteis leyeron
comer (and all regular -er verbs)
comí comiste comió comimos comisteis comieron
Irregular verb: dar (to give) in the preterite
dar (to give): di diste dio dimos disteis dieron
hablar (and all regular -ar verbs)
hablé hablaste habló hablamos hablasteis hablaron
irregular verb: hacer (to make or do) in the preterite
hacer (to make or do): hice hiciste hizo hicimos hicisteis hicieron
Meaning
simple past tense. completed actions or states of being in the past that are now finished. Hablé: I spoke / I did speak
vivir (and all regular -ir verbs)
viví viviste vivió vivimos vivisteis vivieron
