More Irregular Preterit Verbs

Let's wrap up the irregular Preterit verbs in Spanish!

Please reference my previous blog postings on the regular and irregular Preterit verbs. This will help you refresh your memory and get you thinking of the Preterit tense.

Y-Stem Changing Verbs

The following verbs change the 'i' in the third person singular and plural forms before adding their Preterit endings:

-IR		-ER
Oír (to hear)	Reír (to laugh)	Leer (to read)	Creer (to believe)
Oí Oíste Oyó Oímos Oísteis Oyeron	Reí Reíste Reyó Reímos Reísteis Reyeron	Leí Leíste Leyó Leímos Leísteis Leyeron	Creí Creíste Creyó Creímos Creísteis Creyeron

Please Note: These Preterit endings will be the same for verbs that end with -uir such as concluir.

-CAR, -GAR, -ZAR Verbs

In the Preterit tense, these verbs will have a slight spelling change in the first person singular (Yo) form as follows:

-CAR	-GAR	-ZAR
Tocar (to touch/to play an instrument)	Jugar (to play (as in a sport or game))	Almorzar (to have lunch)
Toqué	Jugué	Almorcé
Tocaste Tocó Tocamos Tocasteis Tocaron	Jugaste Jugó Jugamos Jugasteis Jugaron	Almorzaste Almorzó Almorzamos Almorzasteis Almorzaron

Other verbs that change in the Yo form are: explicar, sacar, buscar, llegar, apagar, colgar, entregar, negar, pagar, alcanzar, comenzar, and empezar.

Finally, do you remember the verb haber (to have)? Please review this verb at the end of my blog here. In the Preterit tense, to say "there was/there were" you would say hubo.

As I say in all of my grammar-related blog postings, go out and practice these verbs. Say them out loud to pets, friends, and family members. Write them out. Use flashcards (either electronically or index cards) to test your memory. The more you take action and use them, the better, the faster, and the more fun you will have conversing in the past tense.

¡Hasta luego!
~Keith

~Next Friday, June 7, 2013~

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