Spanish Preterite Irregular Verbs Spanish Verb Conjugation

Now we’ll learn some irregular “er/ir” Spanish verbs that have stem changes. Remember that the stem is the core part of the verb. The endings are still the same with these irregulars. Do you remember the “er/ir” spine endings?

Spanish mini-course

Let’s review them briefly here:

í imos
iste isteis
ieron

Let’s take a look and see how the stems change on these verbs. The first verb is “pedir”:

(Yo) pedí (Nosotros) pedimos
(Tú) pediste (Vosotros) pedisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) pidió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) pidieron

Notice that only the bottom two are irregular and have stem changes. The “e” changes to “i". Now we’ll go over the rest of the irregular verbs of this type:
Seguir (to continue or to follow)

(Yo) seguí (Nosotros) seguimos
(Tú) seguiste (Vosotros-Spain) seguisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) sigió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) siguieron

Again, notice that the bottom row is irregular. As we go through the next few verbs, continue to take note of how the bottom row of each verb conjugation is irregular. Try to memorize how they’re different. Also, especially notice how they’re pronounced so you can start tuning your ear and memory to how they sound.

Now, we’ll look at the verb conseguir (to attain or to get)

(Yo) conseguí (Nosotros) conseguimos
(Tú) conseguiste (Vosotros-Spain) conseguisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) consigió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) consiguieron

Next is the verb repetir (to repeat)

(Yo) repetí (Nosotros) repetimos
(Tú) repetiste (Vosotros-Spain) repetiseis
(El, Ella, Ud.) repitió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) repitieron

Now the verb servir (to serve)

(Yo) serví (Nosotros) servimos
(Tú) serviste (Vosotros-Spain) servisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) sirvió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) sirvieron

Continuing is the verb preferir (to prefer)

(Yo) preferí (Nosotros) preferimos
(Tú) preferiste (Vosotros -Spain) preferisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) prefirió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) prefirieron

Next is the verb requerir (to require)

(Yo) requerí (Nosotros) requerimos
(Tú) requeriste (Vosotros - Spain) requeristeis
(El, Ella, Ud.) requirió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) requirieron

Now the verb sentir (to be sorry or to feel)

(Yo) sentí (Nosotros) sentimos
(Tú) sentiste (Vosotros-Spain) sentisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) sintió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) sintieron

The next three verbs add a “y” to the irregular bottom line.
The first one is destruir. (to destroy)

(Yo) destruí (Nosotros) destruimos
(Tú) destruiste (Vosotros-Spain) destruiste
(El, Ella, Ud.) destruyó (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) destruyeron

The next one to add a “y” is incluir (to include)

(Yo) incuí (Nosotros) incluimos
(Tú) incluiste (Vosotros-Spain) incluisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) incluyó (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) incluyeron

The final one that adds a “y” is oír (to hear)

(Yo) (Nosotros) oímos
(Tú) oíste (Vosotros-Spain) oísteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) oyó (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) oyeron

This final set changes from “o” to “u” on the bottom row.

First is the verb “morir” (to die)

(Yo) morí (Nosotros) morimos
(Tú) moriste (Vosotros - Spain) moristeis
(El, Ella, Ud.) murió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) murieron

And finally, the verb dormir (to sleep)

(Yo) dormí (Nosotros) dormimos
(Tú) dormiste (Vosotros-Spain) dormisteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) durmió (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) durmieron

Now that you’ve had a chance to see all of these irregular verbs and how they work, we’ll learn a few new words, then go to our practice session. However, as I mentioned before, I do recommend reviewing this lesson more than once to help tune your ear to how these verbs sound.

í imos
iste isteis
ieron

Spine Spanish Practice Session #3/4

Here we’ll practice the irregular verbs you learned in the previous lesson. Remember, these verbs are stem changers. Here we go.

I asked for three. Pedí tres.
(Juana) You followed him. Lo seguiste.
He got a book. Consigió un libro.
She repeated it. Lo repitió.
(Sra. Mendoza) You served them (ellos). Los sirvió.
We didn’t destroy it. No lo destruimos.
They didn’t include him. No lo incluyeron.
All of you heard her. La oyeron.
I felt sad. Sentí triste.
(Pepe) You preferred it. Didn’t you? Lo preferiste ¿No?
He required a lot. Requirió mucho.
She died very young. Murió muy joven.
(Sr. Mendes) You slept. Didn’t you? Durmió ¿No?
(Marta) You got it (la hamburguesa). La conseguiste.
He asked for it (el lápiz). Lo pidió.
She followed me. Me sigió.
We repeated it. Lo repetimos.
I served them (ellas). Las serví.
All of you destroyed it. Didn’t you? Lo destruyeron. ¿No?
I included her in the game. La incluí en el juego.
(Rodrigo) You didn’t hear it. Did you? No lo oíste. ¿No?
He felt happy. Sintió feliz.
She preferred the steak. Prefirió el bistec.
We required it. Lo requerimos.
I didn’t die. No morí.
(Juana) Did you sleep well? ¿Dormiste bien?

How did you do on these verbs? Are you starting to feel comfortable with them yet? If not, I recommend studying them once or twice before continuing. Otherwise, if you feel good about them, go on to the next lesson.

Irregular Spine (Spelling)

Now we’ll take a look at a few irregular spine verbs that have some spelling changes. These verbs sound the same when you say them but have a few spelling changes that are important to be aware of. The first few just change only in the “yo” form. These first four of this group have a “g” in them and need to have a spelling change so they will sound correct. For example, the word “to pay” is “pagar”. The “yo” form of this verb is “pagué”. If I put the “yo” ending, or an accented “é”, on the end, instead of being “pagué” it would be “pagé”. To make it sound correct, we need to add a “u” after the “g” to make it a hard “g”. Let’s take a look at the irregular “yo” forms of these verbs.

The “yo” form of pagar (to pay) is: pagué
The “yo” form of llegar (to arrive) is: llegué
The “yo” form of entregar (to deliver) is: entregué
The “yo” form of jugar (to play) is: jugué

The next four verbs are similar to the last four, except in the “yo” form the “c” canges to “qu”. Let’s see how they work.

The “yo” form of buscar (to look for) is: busqué
The “yo” form of practicar (to practice) is: practiqué
The “yo” form of tocar (to touch or play instruments) is: toqué
The “yo” form of sacar (to take out) is: saqué

With the next three verbs, the “z” changes to a “c” in the “yo” form. Like the previous verbs, all the other forms except for the “yo” form are regular.

The “yo” form of empezar (to start) is: empecé
The “yo” form of comenzar (to start) is: comencé
The “yo” form of almorzar (to eat lunch) is: almorcé

Now, we’ll look at the last few verbs in the “spelling changes” category. They have a lot of added accents and both have “y’s” on the bottom row. The first verb is “creer” or “to believe”. Watch for the accents and the “y’s” as we go through these.

(Yo) creí (Nosotros) creímos
(Tú) creíste (Vosotros - Spain) creísteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) creyó (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) creyeron

The last verb in this “irregular” section is “leer” or “to read”. Again, watch for the irregular accents and the “y’s”.

(Yo) leí (Nosotros) leímos
(Tú) leíste (Vosotros - Spain) leísteis
(El, Ella, Ud.) leyó (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) leyeron

Before we practice, you need to learn a couple of new words.

early temprano
late tarde
garbage basura
the class la clase

In the following practice session, we’ll go over these verbs that have spelling changes. Be sure and take note of the spelling changes so you can be prepared for the game.

Spine Spanish Practice Session

As you go over the set of Spanish verbs in this practice session, remember, they all have spelling changes. Try to guess how each one is spelled. Buena suerte (Good luck!).

I arrived early Llegué
(Marta) You arrived early llegaste temprano
I delivered it late (el dinero) lo entregué tarde
He delivered it late (el dinero) lo entregó tarde
I looked for them (las llaves) las busqué
She looked for them (las llaves) las buscó
I paid for it (el carro) lo pagué
(Sra. Benites) You paid for it (el carro) lo pagó
I practiced a lot lo practiqué
We practiced a lot lo practicamos
I played it (la guitarra) la toque
They played it (la guitarra) la tocaron
I took it out (la basura) la saqué
All of you took it out (el suéter) lo sacaron
I started the class (starts with ‘e’) empecé la clase
(Martín) You started the class (starts with ‘e’) empezaste la clase
I ate lunch early almorcé temprano
He ate lunch early almoró temprano
I started late (starts with ‘c’) comencé tarde
She started late (starts with ‘c’) comenzó tarde
I played with him jugué con él
(Sr. Mendes) You played with him jugaste con él
I didn’t believe him No lo creí
They didn’t believe him No lo creyeron
(Marta) You didn’t believe him No lo creíste
I read it yesterday (la revista) La leí ayer
She read it yesterday (la revista) La leyó ayer
We read it yesterday (la revista) La leímos ayer