This lesson teaches the Spanish pretérito indefinido tense focusing on irregular verbs and their unique root changes and conjugation endings. It covers verbs such as hacer, poder, poner, querer, saber, estar, tener, dar, ser, and ir, highlighting their irregular forms and spelling changes. The lesson explains vowel and consonant changes, verbs without accents, and special spelling adjustments for -zar, -gar, and -car verbs. Understanding these patterns helps learners correctly express completed past actions in Spanish, contrasting with English past tense formation.
- The endings of irregular verbs are: "-e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron".
- The verbs "ser" and "ir" are conjugated the same.
- Irregular verbs in the simple past do not carry an accent mark in any of their forms.
| Verbo (Verb) | Raíz (Root) | Conjugación (Conjugation) | Ejemplo (Example) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hacer | Hic- Hiz- | Hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron | Hice un reportaje sobre las noticias actuales. (I did a report on current news.) |
| Poder | Pud- | Pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron | No pude volver a ver el programa. (I could not watch the programme again.) |
| Poner | Pus- | Puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron | Mi madre puso la televisión en el salón. (My mother put the television in the living room.) |
| Querer | Quis- | Quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron | Siempre quisimos conocer al presentador del noticiero. (We always wanted to meet the news anchor.) |
| Saber | Sup- | Supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron | No supe que mi abuelo fue reportero hasta que vi un reportaje suyo. (I didn't know that my grandfather was a reporter until I saw one of his reports.) |
| Estar | Estuv- | Estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron | Nosotros estuvimos en un programa televisivo. (We were on a television programme.) |
| Tener | Tuv- | Tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron | Yo tuve una televisión pequeña. (I had a small television.) |
| Dar | / | Di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieron | El presentador nos dio una buena noticia. (The presenter gave us good news.) |
| Ser | / | Fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron | Tú fuiste un presentador. (You were a presenter.) |
| Ir | / | Ayer fuisteis al programa televisivo. (Yesterday you went to the television programme.) |
Exceptions!
- Some verbs are regular but have a change in the third person singular and plural. For example: dormir-durmió; pedir-pidió; seguir-siguieron; sentir-sintieron
- Some verbs also have a consonant change in the third person singular and plural. For example: leer-leyó
- Verbs ending in -zar, -gar, and -car change -z to -c, -g to -gu, and -c to -qu in the first person singular. For example: pagar-pagué
Exercise 1: El pretérito indefinido: Los verbos irregulares
Instruction: Fill in the correct word.
dio, fuiste, navegó, quise, supimos, tuvimos, fue
1.
El programa ... interesante.
(The programme was interesting.)
2.
Él ... reportero.
(He was a reporter.)
3.
¿Tú ... al parque?
(Did you go to the park?)
4.
Nosotros ... las noticias actuales.
(We learned the current news.)
5.
El reportero ... muchos detalles en el reportaje.
(The reporter gave many details in the report.)
6.
Yo ... volver a casa para ver el programa.
(I wanted to go back home to watch the programme.)
7.
Él ... por internet.
(He surfed the internet.)
8.
Nosotros ... nuestro programa favorito.
(We had our favourite programme.)
Exercise 2: Multiple Choice
Instruction: Select the correct sentence in the simple past tense of regular or irregular verbs for each situation. Pay attention to the endings and accents, and avoid common errors in the conjugation of the simple past tense.
1.
Error: The form 'vié' does not exist; 'ver' is conjugated as 'vi' in the first person singular of the simple past.
Error: The verb 'ver' in simple past does not have an accent in the first person singular. 'Ví' is incorrect.
2.
Error: The form 'preguntamosé' does not exist; the correct form for 'we' in simple past is 'preguntamos'.
Error: Although the form 'preguntamos' is the same in present and past, in this sentence the context is appropriate; this option remains correct.
3.
Error: Missing the accent on 'explicó', which is necessary to differentiate the past from the present.
Error: 'Explició' is not a correct form; the correct ending for third person singular is '-ó' with an accent.
4.
Error: 'Vivieronon' does not exist; the correct ending is '-ieron' without additional letters.
Error: 'Vivió' is third person singular, not plural. The correct form for 'they' is 'vivieron'.