Preterite irregular verbs

Foreign Languages

Definition

Preterite irregular verbs in Spanish do not follow standard conjugation patterns in the simple past tense. They have unique stems and share a special set of endings (-e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron) without accent marks.

Examples

  • Tener → tuve, tuviste, tuvo (I had, you had, he/she had)
  • Ir/Ser → fui, fuiste, fue (I went/was, you went/were, he went/was)
  • Hacer → hice, hiciste, hizo (I did/made, you did/made, he did/made)
Key Fact

Common irregular preterite stems: tener→tuv-, estar→estuv-, poder→pud-, poner→pus-, saber→sup-, hacer→hic-/hiz-, venir→vin-, decir→dij-

Related Terms

Preterite regular verbs Preterite vs imperfect Ir + a + infinitive Ser vs estar

Study This Concept

Practice preterite irregular verbs with free review games in these units:

Spanish 1-2 Unit 11: Past Tense