Repaso: Present, Preterite, & Imperfect


There are 3 types of verbs in Spanish

- AR Verbs (Ex. hablar)

- ER Verbs (Ex. comer)

- IR Verbs (Ex. salir)
When we conjugate verbs in the present tense, we drop the infinitive ending (-AR, -ER, or –IR) and we add a verb
ending to match the subject.

The verb endings for the 3 types of verbs in Spanish are:
- AR
Yo
-o
Tú
- as
Él
Ella
Usted
- a
For example…
Nosotros -amos
Yo
bailo
Nosotros
bailamos
Vosotros -áis
Tú
bailas
Vosotros
bailáis
Ellos
Ellas
- an
Ustedes
Él
Ella
Usted
baila
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
bailan
- ER
Yo
-o
Tú
Él
Ella
Usted
For example…
COMER
Nosotros -emos
Yo
como
Nosotros
comemos
- es
Vosotros -éis
Tú
comes
Vosotros
coméis
- e
Ellos
Ellas
- en
Ustedes
Él
Ella
Usted
come
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
comen
- IR
Yo
-o
Tú
- es
Él
Ella
Usted
BAILAR
- e
For example…
ESCRIBIR
Nosotros -imos
Yo
escribo
Nosotros escribimos
Vosotros -ís
Tú
escribes
Vosotros escribís
Ellos
Ellas
- en
Ustedes
Él
Ella
Usted
escribe
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
escriben
Note!
Notice that –ER and –IR verbs have the same verb endings except for in the nosotros and vosotros forms!!!
Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins
1
Repaso: Present, Preterite, & Imperfect

Some verbs in Spanish are irregular verbs—they don‘t follow the normal rules.

There are different kinds of irregular verbs. Below are some common types of irregularities that you will need to
know:

o
Completely Irregular Verbs
o
Stem Changing Verbs
o
Verbs with Irregular YO Forms
Let‘s look at some of the verbs that fit into these three categories!
Completely Irregular Verbs:
With verbs that are completely irregular, there is no rhyme or reason to their forms. You just have to memorize
them!
IR
SER
Yo
voy
Nosotros
vamos
Yo
soy
Nosotros
somos
Tú
vas
Vosotros
vais
Tú
eres
Vosotros
sois
Él
Ella
Usted
va
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
van
Él
Ella
Usted
es
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
son
Stem Changing Verbs:
When a verb has a stem change, it means that the vowel in the middle of the verb changes when it is put into its
different forms. Stem changing verbs are called ―boot verbs‖ because you only stem change the forms inside the
boot. The nosotros and vosotros forms NEVER stem change. Even when a verb has a stem change, you still MUST
drop the –AR, -ER or –IR and add the appropriate verb ending to agree with the subject. Make sure you use the
correct endings based on what kind of verb it is (-AR, -ER, or –IR)!!! There are 3 types of stem changes:
E-IE
O-UE
QUERER
VOLVER
E-I
PEDIR
Yo quiero
Nosotros queremos
Yo vuelvo
Nosotros volvemos
Yo pido
Nosotros pedimos
Tú quieres
Vosotros queréis
Tú vuelves
Vosotros volvéis
Tú pides
Vosotros
pedís
Él
Ella quiere
Ud.
Ellos
Ellas
Uds.
Él
Ella vuelve
Ud.
Ellos
Ellas
Uds.
Él
Ella pide
Ud.
Ellos
Ellas
Uds.
piden
quieren
vuelven
Verbs with Irregular YO Forms:
Some verbs are only irregular in the YO form. All the other forms are regular. Some common irregular YO forms are:
hacer  yo hago
poner  yo pongo
salir  yo salgo
ver  yo veo
traer  yo traigo
saber  yo sé
Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins
2
Repaso: Present, Preterite, & Imperfect
 The preterite is used to express completed actions in the past!
o
Ayer yo jugué al fútbol en el parque.
Yesterday I played soccer in the park.
o
El año pasado mi familia y yo fuimos a Londres.
Last year my family and I went to London.
o
Anoche yo estudié para mi examen de español.
Last night I studied for my Spanish test.
 The preterite is formed by taking the –AR/-ER/-IR off of the verb and adding a preterite ending.
 Below is a summary of the preterite tense
1) Verb Endings:
Yo
é
Nosotros
amos
Tú
aste
Vosotros
asteis
ó
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
Él
Ella
Usted
Ex.
aron
Yo
bailé
Nosotros
bailamos
Tú
bailaste
Vosotros
bailasteis
bailó
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
bailaron
Él
Ella
Usted
2) Verbs that end in –ZAR, -CAR, & -GAR have a spelling change in the ‗YO‘ form.
-gar  gué
Ex:
llegar  yo llegué
- car  qué
Ex:
sacar  yo saqué
- zar  cé
Ex:
empezar  yo empecé
3) Stem Changes
-AR verbs do NOT stem change in the preterite!!!
 -ER & -IR verbs use the same verb endings in the preterite:
1) Verb Endings
Yo
í
Nosotros
imos
Tú
iste
Vosotros
isteis
ió
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
Él
Ella
Usted
Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins
ieron
Ex.
Yo
comí
Nosotros
comimos
Tú
comiste
Vosotros
comisteis
comió
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
comieron
Él
Ella
Usted
3
Repaso: Present, Preterite, & Imperfect
2) ‗Y‘ Verbs
-ER & -IR verbs whose stem ends in a vowel have a ‗y‘ in their 3rd person forms.
LEER
For example:
Yo
leí
Nosotros
leímos
Tú
leíste
Vosotros
leísteis
Él
Ella
leyó
Usted
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
NOTE
All the forms with
„ í ‟ have an accent!
leyeron
3) Stem Changes
-ER verbs do NOT stem-change in the preterite!
-IR verbs are the only verbs that can stem-change in the preterite! The rule is...
-IR verbs that stem change in the present tense also stem change in the preterite tense, but
only in the 3rd person forms (él/ella/usted & ellos/ellas/ustedes).
Unlike the present tense, there are only 2 possible stem-changes
For example:
PREFERIR
DORMIR
Yo
dormí
Nosotros
dormimos
Yo
preferí
Nosotros
preferimos
Tú
dormiste
Vosotros
dormisteis
Tú
preferiste
Vosotros
preferisteis
Él
Ella
Usted
durmió
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
durmieron
Él
Ella
Usted
prefirió
Ellos
Ellas
Ustedes
prefirieron
 There are MANY irregular verbs in the preterite! For example….
IR/SER – to go/ to be
DAR – to give
VER – to see
HACER – to do/make
fui
fuimos
di
dimos
vi
vimos
hice
hicimos
fuiste
fuisteis
diste
disteis
viste
visteis
hiciste
hicisteis
fue
fueron
dio
dieron
vio
vieron
hizo
hicieron
Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins
4
Repaso: Present, Preterite, & Imperfect
Many of the verbs that are irregular in the preterite have an irregular stem. In addition, there is a
different set of verb endings that is used with these verbs. These irregular preterite endings are derived
from the regular preterite endings, combining some –AR endings and some –ER/-IR endings. There are NO
ACCENTS on the irregular preterite endings!!!
STEMS:
ENDINGS:
ANDAR  anduv___
PONER  pus__
PODER  pud__
(to walk)
(to put/place)
(to be able/can)
SABER  sup___
ESTAR  estuv__
(to know/find out)
(to be)
-e
- imos
- iste
- isteis
-o
- ieron
VENIR  vin__
(to come)
Hammer Endings!
QUERER  quis___
TENER  tuv___
(to want)
(to have)
Several verbs that are totally irregular in the preterite are ―J Verbs‖, meaning that their irregular stems
end in a ―J‖. These ―J Verbs‖ have a slightly different set of irregular endings.
STEMS:
ENDINGS:
TRAER  traj__
DECIR  dij___
TRADUCIR  traduj___
(to bring)
(to say/tell)
(to translate)
CONDUCIR  conduj___
(to drive)
Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins
PRODUCIR  produj___
(to produce)
-e
- imos
- iste
- isteis
-o
- eron
* ALL other verbs that end in
- CIR are “J Verbs” as well.
5
Repaso: Present, Preterite, & Imperfect

The imperfect is another type of past tense in Spanish

The preterite and the imperfect are NOT interchangeable!

While the preterite expresses completed actions in the past, the imperfect expresses:
o
Habitual/Repeated Actions
De niño yo montaba en bicicleta todos los días.
As a child I used to ride my bike every day.
o
Actions that were in progress
Mi abuela y yo preparábamos las galletas.
My grandma and I were preparing cookies.
o
General descriptions (physical characteristics, age, etc.)
La princesa tenía 18 años y era muy bonita.
The princess was 18 years and old and very pretty.
o
Mental, physical and emotional states/conditions
Sara tenía un dolor de cabeza y se sentía muy enferma.
Sara had a headache and she felt very sick.
o
Telling time
Eran las nueve de la noche.
It was nine o‘clock at night.
Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins
6
Repaso: Present, Preterite, & Imperfect
 Forming the Imperfect:
The imperfect verb endings are:
-AR Verbs
-ER/-IR Verbs
Yo
- aba
Nosotros
- ábamos
Yo
- ía
Nosotros
- íamos
Tú
- abas
Vosotros
- abais
Tú
- ías
Vosotros
- íais
- aba
Ellos
Ellas
Uds.
- ía
Ellos
Ellas
Uds.
Él
Ella
Ud.
- aban
Él
Ella
Ud.
- ían
 Irregular Imperfect Verbs
There are only 3 irregular verbs in the imperfect:
SER (to be)
IR (to go)
Yo
era
Nosotros
éramos
Yo
iba
Nosotros
íbamos
Tú
eras
Vosotros
erais
Tú
ibas
Vosotros
ibais
era
Ellos
Ellas
Uds.
eran
Él
Ella
Ud.
iba
Ellos
Ellas
Uds.
iban
Él
Ella
Ud.
VER (to see)
Yo
veía
Nosotros
veíamos
Tú
veías
Vosotros
veíais
veía
Ellos
Ellas
Uds.
veían
Él
Ella
Ud.
Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins
7
Repaso: Present, Preterite, & Imperfect
Overview of Preterite vs. Imperfect
 The preterite and the imperfect are not interchangeable!
 They are each used to express different types of past actions and events.
 Below are some basic guidelines to help you learn when to use the preterite and when to use the
imperfect.
Use the PRETERITE to…
Use the IMPERFECT to…
Express completed actions
Express actions that were in progress/ongoing
Sam se rompió el brazo…
Sam broke his arm…
Narrate a series/chain of past actions/events
Ayer Maite se rompió la pierna.
Ella fue a la sala de emergencias
y vio al doctor. El doctor le
puso una escayola.
Yesterday Maite broke her leg. She went to the
emergency room and saw the doctor. The doctor
put a cast on her.
Express the beginning or end of a past action
…mientras jugaba al fútbol.
…while he was playing soccer
Express habitual/repeated past actions/events
De niña yo nunca quería ir al
dentista.
As a child I never wanted to
go to the dentist.
Yo me enfermaba con mucha
frecuencia.
I used to get sick very often.
Describe physical, mental and emotional
states/conditions
Carlos empezó a toser ayer.
Carlos started to cough
yesterday.
Manuel tenía tos y le dolía la
garganta.
Manuel had a cough and his
throat hurt.
Express general descriptions/background
information in the past (general characteristics,
age, time, weather, etc.)
La enfermera se llamaba Flor. Ella
era muy simpática.
The nurse‟s name was Flor. She
was very friendly.
Sch. Spanish 3, Profa Jenkins
8