Topic:
Verbs that have present tense stem changes and end in -ir bring their unruly changes along to the preterite, sort of.
Final Group of Stem Changes in the Preterite
In this group, we will see that -ir verbs with a stem change in the present tense have a similar change in the preterite.
In the preterite tense, the change applies only to the third person singular and plural conjugations.
Let's see how it works with sentir, which has an e => ie change in the present tense. (For example, I feel is Yo siento.)
Preterite conjugation of sentir (to feel)
The e => ie change in the present tense becomes just e => i here in the preterite.
Remember that only the bottom row is irregular, the Él and Ellos forms.
Thus, She felt is Ella sintió.
Let's look at another type of stem change...
Preterite conjugation of dormir (to sleep)
Here, the change is o => u. There are only a handful of verbs that use this change. The main two are dormir and morir (to die).
We have one more style to examine, where the change is e => i.
Preterite conjugation of pedir (to request, to ask for)
For me, the trickiest part of this group is remembering that only -ir verbs carry their stem-changes along to the preterite.
For example, pensar has a stem change in the present tense, but because it is an -ar verb, it is regular in the preterite tense. No stem change is needed.
Familiarity with the specific forms is probably a better approach than trying to memorize the rules. As usual, practice is the key.
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
Take the Quiz
Previous Lesson
