Boot verbs in the preterite
Unlike the present tense:
Only the “ir” boot verbs undergo a change
This change only takes place in the 3rd person
o  ue
morir(se)
dormir(se)
Morí
Moriste
Murió
Morimos
Moristeis
Murieron
Dormí
Dormiste
Durmió
Dormimos
Dormisteis
Durmieron
ei
Pedí
Pediste
Pidió
Pedimos
Moristeis
Pidieron
Write in the third person (singular and plural)
despedirse de = to say goodbye
divertirse = to enjoy oneself
hervir = to boil
pedir = to ask for
preferir = to prefer
rendirse = to surrender
repetir = to repeat
seguir = to follow
sentir = to feel, to be sorry
servir = to serve
vestirse = to get dressed
He / she / it /
They /
You (polite)
you (plural, polite)
More changes in spellings
Some spelling changes occur in the 3rd person of a limited number of verbs which
do not have a spelling change in any other person.
Verb
1st person
singular
3rd person
singular
3rd person
plural
caer = to fall
creer = to believe
leer = to read
oír = to hear
destruir =
to destroy
construir =
caí
creí
leí
oí
destruí
cayó
creyó
leyó
oyó
destruyó
cayeron
creyeron
leyeron
oyeron
destruyeron
construí
construyó
construyeron
Ahora te toca a ti
1. Yesterday my parents said goodbye to my grandparents (despedirse de)
2. Did you enjoy yourself in Spain? My brother didn’t enjoy himself in France
(divertirse)
3. Miguel repeated his homework (repetir)
4. They fell over in the snow (caerse)
5. The glass of milk boiled in the microwave (hervir)
6. I asked for a beer but Esteban asked for a coffee with milk and my parents asked
for a tea (pedir)
7. This morning my dad read el País but I read Marca (leer)
8. The waiter served the dinner at eight o’clock (servir)
9. I preferred to play football but Luisa preferred to watch television (preferir)
10. They followed the motorway whilst I followed the coast (seguir)