Topic:
Regular preterite tense -er and -ir verbs share the same endings. Learn them here.
Two for the Price of One
In this lesson we get a bit of good news. In the preterite tense, -er verbs and -ir verbs share exactly the same endings, so there is one less group of endings to memorize.
Hopefully you are also starting to see some patterns in the conjugations that make them easier to remember. We still have a long way to go, but this is the last of what I consider the difficult groups of verb endings. So keep the faith!
Regular Preterite Conjugations of -er and -ir Verbs
Let's begin with the verb aprender
, which means to learn. Here is the full conjugation in the simple past tense.
Preterite Conjugation of aprender
Verb Ending Details
The verb endings here follow a similar pattern to those in the previous lesson for -ar verbs, but there are a few key differences.
To begin with, examine the Yo form, where the ending is -í instead of -é. The form for I learned is aprendí, with the accented -í at the end.
Also look at the Él / Ella / Usted third person form, where the ending is -ió.
So to say He learned we don't say Él aprendó, but instead Él aprendió
. That pronunciation is ah-pren-DYO.
An Example Sentence
Using the conjugations above, how would you say Where did you learn to speak Spanish?
¿Dónde aprendiste a hablar español?
Now for an -ir Verb
Escribir
is an -ir verb that means to write. In the preterite tense, the endings are exactly the same as for the -er verbs.
Preterite Conjugation of escribir
As usual, you will find several detailed demonstrations of the concept among the outside resources listed below. If you have any doubts about this verb form, take a look at those sources for more details.
Once you are ready, head to the exercises for plenty of practice with the new forms.
Additional Study Resources
Videos:
Websites:
Books:
On to the Exercises and the Quiz
To practice the verb forms in this lesson, click Practice Exercises below.
Whenever you want, you can take the quiz for this lesson.
Practice Exercises
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