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Este curso de pretérito indefinido cubre verbos irregulares clave como hacer (hice), poder (pude) y tener (tuve), mostrando sus raíces y conjugaciones para narrar eventos pasados comúnmente usados.
  1. The endings of irregular verbs are: "-e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron".
  2. The verbs "ser" and "ir" are conjugated the same.
  3. 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)
HacerHic- Hiz-Hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieronHice un reportaje sobre las noticias actuales. (I did a report on current news.)
PoderPud-Pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieronNo pude volver a ver el programa. (I could not watch the programme again.)
PonerPus-Puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieronMi madre puso la televisión en el salón. (My mother put the television in the living room.)
QuererQuis-Quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieronSiempre quisimos conocer al presentador del noticiero. (We always wanted to meet the news anchor.)
SaberSup-Supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieronNo 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.)
EstarEstuv-Estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieronNosotros estuvimos en un programa televisivo.  (We were on a television programme.)
Tener Tuv-Tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieronYo tuve una televisión pequeña. (I had a small television.)
Dar/Di, diste, dio, dimos, disteis, dieronEl presentador nos dio una buena noticia. (The presenter gave us good news.)
Ser/Fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueronTú fuiste un presentador. (You were a presenter.)
Ir/Ayer fuisteis al programa televisivo. (Yesterday you went to the television programme.)

Exceptions!

  1. 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
  2. Some verbs also have a consonant change in the third person singular and plural. For example: leer-leyó
  3. 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.

Show translation Show answers

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 mistakes in the conjugation of the simple past tense.

1.
Error: The form 'vi' does not exist; 'ver' is conjugated as 'vi' in the first person singular of the simple past.
Error: The verb 'ver' in the simple past does not carry an accent in first person singular. 'V' is incorrect.
2.
Error: The form 'preguntamos' does not exist; the correct form for 'we' in simple past is 'preguntamos'.
Error: Although the form 'preguntamos' is the same in present and simple past, in this sentence the context is adequate; this option remains correct.
3.
Error: Missing accent on 'explicó', which is necessary to differentiate the simple past from the present.
Error: 'Explic' is not a correct form; the correct ending for third person singular is '-ó' with an accent.
4.
Error: 'Livedon' does not exist; the correct ending is '-ieron' without additional letters.
Error: 'Vivi' is third person singular, not plural. The correct form for 'they' is 'vivieron'.

Overview of the Simple Past: Irregular Verbs

This lesson focuses on the pretérito indefinido, commonly known as the simple past tense, specifically on irregular verbs in Spanish. At the A2 level, learners expand their ability to talk about completed actions in the past using verbs that do not follow the regular conjugation patterns.

Key Features of Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past

  • Root changes: Many irregular verbs alter their stem in the past. For example, hacer changes to hic- or hiz- depending on the form.
  • Standard irregular endings: These verbs typically end with -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.
  • No accents: Unlike regular verbs, irregular verbs in this tense do not carry written accents on their forms.

Common Irregular Verbs and Examples

Here are some of the most frequent irregular verbs with their stems and an example sentence:

  • Hacer (to do/make): hice, hiciste, hizo - Hice un reportaje sobre las noticias actuales.
  • Poder (to be able to): pude, pudiste, pudo - No pude volver a ver el programa.
  • Poner (to put): puse, pusiste, puso - Mi madre puso la televisión en el salón.
  • Querer (to want): quise, quisiste, quiso - Siempre quisimos conocer al presentador del noticiero.
  • Saber (to know/find out): supe, supiste, supo - No supe que mi abuelo fue reportero hasta que vi un reportaje suyo.
  • Estar (to be - temporary states/locations): estuve, estuviste, estuvo - Nosotros estuvimos en un programa televisivo.
  • Tener (to have): tuve, tuviste, tuvo - Yo tuve una televisión pequeña.
  • Dar (to give): di, diste, dio - El presentador nos dio una buena noticia.
  • Ser and Ir (to be and to go): Both conjugate as fui, fuiste, fue - Tú fuiste un presentador. Ayer fuisteis al programa televisivo.

Important Notes on Changes Within Verbs

  • Some verbs are regular except in the third person singular and plural where vowel changes happen, for example, dormir - durmió and pedir - pidió.
  • Some verbs change consonants in third person forms, like leer - leyó.
  • Spelling changes occur in verbs ending in -zar, -gar, and -car to preserve pronunciation, e.g., pagar - pagué.

Differences and Useful Expressions

English speakers should note that the Spanish pretérito indefinido has no direct perfect equivalent and is used to describe specific completed past actions, often with a clear time frame. Unlike English, where the simple past sometimes mirrors the present perfect in usage, Spanish distinguishes these tenses more strongly.

Useful phrases to express past completed actions include:

  • Hice un reportaje - I made a report
  • No pude volver - I couldn't return
  • Estuvimos en el programa - We were at the show

Remember that verbs like ser (to be) and ir (to go) use identical forms in the past tense but are differentiated by context.

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