Topic:
Some verbs use an irregular stem and slightly different endings in the preterite, such as estar where estuve means I was.
Frustration Station
Unfortunately the preterite tense is a veritable minefield of verbs that misbehave.
In fact, this lesson might be the most annoying spot in our entire library. There are a lot of exceptions and most of them just need to be memorized.
This is a specific point where many students really feel overwhelmed.
If you are like me, you feel right now like you will never finish this task of learning Spanish.
A Pep Talk
This lesson is as bad as it gets. Once you get past the preterite tense, the other tenses are much easier to learn.
For me, I just had to decide that I was not going to let myself be defeated.
I did not learn all these exceptions at once, and frankly, I still make mistakes with some of these verbs.
But it has not prevented me from being successful in communicating. And I continue to use the exercises here to practice.
So work on these exceptions, but don't let it deter you from reaching the real goal, having the ability to communicate in Spanish.
Ok, let's dive in.
Verbs Whose Stem Changes in the Preterite
We will begin with verbs that add a "uv" in the stem.
"uv" Stem Changes
The most common verbs in this group are estar, tener, and andar.
You learned the preterite of estar already, back in Lesson 5.2.
Because it is typical of these verbs I am including it here again, along with the conjugations of tener and andar.
Preterite conjugation of estar meaning to be
Preterite conjugation of tener meaning to have
Preterite conjugation of andar meaning to walk
In each case, once the stem is changed to the "uv" version, the following endings are added: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, and -ieron.
Other verbs that end in -tener follow the same pattern, like obtener
which means to obtain.
Preterite conjugation of obtener
The same thing applies to contener (to contain), detener (to stop something), entretener (to entertain), and sostener (to sustain).
Verbs with a "u" in the Stem
These verbs have several kinds of changes, but each includes a "u" in the stem which wasn't present in the infinitive.
Sometimes a consonant changes as well, so we really need to just look at these individually.
First, poder and poner
I want to start with these because they are easily confused at first.
The preterite stem of poder (to be able to) becomes "pud-", while the preterite stem of poner (to put) becomes "pus-".
Let's see the entire conjugations:
Preterite conjugation of poder
Example:
Escuchó al pájaro, pero no pudo verlo.
He heard the bird, but he could not see it.
Preterite conjugation of poner
Example:
Me puso diez dolares en la mano.
He put ten dollars in my hand.
The conjugations for poner show how consonants sometimes also change.
Here the "o" in poner becomes a "u", and the "n" becomes an "s". Odd, right?
More "poner" Verbs
All verbs that end in -poner inherit this preterite conjugation.
An example is componer which means to compose.
Preterite conjugation of componer
Some others are disponer, exponer, proponer, suponer.
More "u" Stem Verbs
These verbs also have a "u" in the changed stems:
| Infinitive | Meaning | Preterite Stem |
|---|---|---|
| caber | to fit | cup- |
| haber | to have (helping verb) | hub- |
| saber | to know | sup- |
Let's see saber in full:
Preterite conjugation of saber
Last Group for this Lesson: The "i" Stems
This lesson is too long already, but let's add one more group of verbs.
These have a stem change that includes an "i" that wasn't in the infinitive.
| Infinitive | Meaning | Preterite Stem |
|---|---|---|
| venir | to come | vin- |
| querer | to want | quis- |
| hacer | to do, to make | hic- |
| satisfacer | to satisfy | satisfic- |
Preterite conjugation of venir
As a last example, look at hacer.
Preterite conjugation of hacer
Look out for hizo
, where the "c" turns into a "z" to avoid a change in pronunciation!
¡Basta! Enough already! Let's get to the practice.
Additional Study Resources
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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.
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