Ouuf! You learned about irregular verbs, and now you want to see them in the past tense. I remember the first time I realized that Era was from the word Ser, and Fui from the word Ir, lol.
As overwhelming as it might seem, don’t get discouraged, I never studied these tenses, I just learned as I went on - and that worked pretty well for me!
To this day, I speak Spanish fluently, I have lived in a Spanish-speaking country for four months without any issues, and I can debate, talk about history - languages, anything that I want.
My point is, don’t get too caught up in this garbage, check out the tenses, and focus on the example sentences I give you with the Spanish irregular verbs in the preterite, but don’t stress.
I would go as far as to say, don’t study it, just read it and move on.
Ya know, your brain is made to recognize patterns, so just take it easy, read, learn, and acquire the language as we do here in the Acquire The Language Community.
¿Estás listo/a para aprender? (Are you ready to learn?)
¡Vamos! (Let’s go!)
What Does Preterite Mean?
The preterite tense is used to talk about past events that are clearly done and over with. For example "I left Rome a year ago" or "I ate lunch."
Think of the preterite tense as a time machine that whisks us back to specific moments in the past. It's like putting on your storytelling hat and narrating events that are completed and neatly wrapped up.
Whether it's yesterday, last week, or a century ago, the preterite tense helps us paint a vivid picture of what went down. Think about the sentence “I went to Mexico last week” or “I got sick last year.”
When to Use It: Quick Rules
Singular Events: Use the preterite tense for actions that happened once, like "I ate breakfast" or "She danced at the party."
Completed Actions: When the action is done and dusted, the preterite tense is your go-to. "They finished their homework" or "He arrived home" are spot-on examples.
Specific Time Frames: If you have a specific time frame in mind, like "yesterday" or "last year," the preterite is your trusty companion
Here are the common conjugations for the preterite tense in Spanish
-AR Verbs: "Hablar" (to talk)
Hablé (I talked)
Hablaste (You talked)
Habló (He/She/It/Usted talked)
Hablamos (We talked)
Hablasteis (You all talked)
Hablaron (They/You-Plural talked)
-ER and -IR Verbs: "Comer" (to eat) and "Vivir" (to live)
Comí (I ate)
Comiste (You ate)
Comió (He/She/It/Usted ate)
Comimos (We ate)
Comisteis (You all talked)
Comieron (They/You-Plural ate)
Viví (I lived)
Viviste (You lived)
Vivió (He/She/It/Usted lived)
Vivimos (We lived)
Vivisteis (You all lived)
Vivieron (They/You-Plural lived)
What Are Irregular Verbs?
Irregular verbs are verbs that don’t follow the common conjugation patterns that are found in a language. For example, in Spanish, the preterite conjugations for Yo (I) using AR verbs take off the AR verb ending, and add É to the end of the word - For example (Hablar) Hablé.
However, with irregular verbs such as Ser, that same conjugation would be Fui, which doesn’t even look like the same word, does it?
In summary:
Irregular verbs don’t follow common conjugation patterns. This causes them to look completely different in their conjugation forms.
Preterite Conjugations For Spanish Irregular Verbs
In this section we'll take a look at some of the most commonly used verbs in Spanish that are irregular. I'll conjugate them all in the preterite, and I just want you to look at how much they change. You don't need to memorize these, you'll acquire them with time if you read them enough anyway!
Ser (to be)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Fui |
Tú (You) | Fuiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Fue |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Fueron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Fuimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Fuisteis |
Ir (to go)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Fui |
Tú (You) | Fuiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Fue |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Fueron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Fuimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Fuisteis |
Tener (to have)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Tuve |
Tú (You) | Tuviste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Tuvo |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Tuvieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Tuvimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Tuvisteis |
Hacer (to do, to make)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Hice |
Tú (You) | Hiciste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Hizo |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Hicieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Hicimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Hicisteis |
Poder (to be able to, can)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Pude |
Tú (You) | Pudiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Pudo |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Pudieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Pudimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Pudisteis |
Saber (to know)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Supe |
Tú (You) | Supiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Supo |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Supieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Supimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Supisteis |
Querer (to want)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Quise |
Tú (You) | Quisiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Quiso |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Quisieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Quisimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Quisisteis |
Venir (to come)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Vine |
Tú (You) | Viniste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Vino |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Vinieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Vinimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Vinisteis |
Poner (to put, to place)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Puse |
Tú (You) | Pusiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Puso |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Pusieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Pusimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Pusisteis |
Salir (to leave, to go out)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Salí |
Tú (You) | Saliste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Salió |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Salieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Salimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Salisteis |
Conocer (to know, to be familiar with)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Conocí |
Tú (You) | Conociste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Conoció |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Conocieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Conocimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Conocisteis |
Oír (to hear)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Oí |
Tú (You) | Oíste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Oyó |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Oyeron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Oímos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Oísteis |
Traer (to bring)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Traje |
Tú (You) | Trajiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Trajo |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Trajeron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Trajimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Trajisteis |
Decir (to say, to tell)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Dije |
Tú (You) | Dijiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Dijo |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Dijeron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Dijimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Dijisteis |
Volver (to return, to go back)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Volví |
Tú (You) | Volviste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Volvió |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Volvieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Volvimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Volvisteis |
Pensar (to think)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Pensé |
Tú (You) | Pensaste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Pensó |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Pensaron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Pensamos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Pensasteis |
Dormir (to sleep)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Dormí |
Tú (You) | Dormiste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Durmió |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Durmieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Dormimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Dormisteis |
Pedir (to ask for, to order)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Pedí |
Tú (You) | Pediste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Pidió |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Pidieron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Pedimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Pedisteis |
Empezar (to begin, to start)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Empecé |
Tú (You) | Empezaste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Empezó |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Empezaron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Empezamos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Empezasteis |
Jugar (to play)
Subject | Preterite Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Jugué |
Tú (You) | Jugaste |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Jugó |
Ellos/as (They/You-Plural) | Jugaron |
Nosotros/as (We) | Jugamos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) SPAIN ONLY | Jugasteis |
Examples Using These Verbs In The Preterite
In this section we'll go over some examples of irregular verbs in the preterite tense. If you want to learn them really well, I suggest that you write these sentences down in a notebook for future reference.
Spanish Sentence | English Translation |
Yo fui a Los Estados Unidos (Ser) | I was in the United States |
Ella se fue ayer (Ir) | She went away yesterday |
Él tuvo un libro en su mano (Tener) | He had a book in his hand |
Ellos no hicieron nada (Hacer) | They did not do anything |
Ella no puedo hacerlo (Poder) | She couldn't do it |
Yo no supe eso (Saber) | I didn't know that |
Tú no quisiste hacerlo (Querer) | You didn't want to do it |
Ella no vino (Venir) | She didn't come |
Ella lo puso sobre la mesa (Poner) | She put it on the table |
Nosotros no salimos anoche (Salir) | We didn't go out last night |
Yo no lo conocí (Conocer) | I didn't know it |
¿Tú lo oíste? (Oír) | Did you hear it? |
Ellos lo trajeron (Traer) | They brought it |
Ella me dijo eso (Decir) | She told me that |
Tú no volviste anoche (Volver) | You didn't return last night |
Yo no lo pensé (Pensar) | I didn't think of it |
Ella durmió mucho (Dormir) | She slept a lot |
Ella me lo pidió (Pedir) | She asked me for it |
Tú lo empezaste (Empezar) | You started it |
Nosotros no jugamos (Jugar) | We didn't play |
If you want to understand irregular verbs in Spanish better, check this article out where we do a deep dive into what they are, and how to use them!
I hope this information helped you acquire a couple conjugations. Have a wonderful day/evening/night,
~ Ben