Indefinido – irregulares

¿Cuándo estuviste en Bilbao?

In the previous lesson you learned how to conjugate regular verbs in Pretérito Indefinido. There are irregular verbs, as well. These verbs should be simply memorized.

El verano pasado yo estuve en España — Last summer I was in Spain

Manuel dijo algo a Patricia — Manuel said something to Patricia

Ayer fuimos al cine — Yesterday we went to the cinema

¿Por qué no me trajiste nada? — Why didn’t you bring me anything?

Irregular verbs in Indefinido can be grouped according to the modifications that are produced in the verb’s stem.

o – u

dormir

morir

dormir

yo dormí

tú dormiste

él, ella, usted durmió

nosotros dormimos

vosotros dormisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes durmieron

This modification takes place only in the third person, both in singular and plural forms. There are few words in this group. Morir is among them.

Try it yourself:

morir

yo …

tú …

él, ella, usted …

nosotros …

vosotros …

ellos, ellas, ustedes …

Mi perro no durmió en toda la noche – My dog didn’t sleep all night

¿Cuándo murió Lorca? – When did Lorca die?

Try it yourself:

My grandparents died eight years ago

How many hours did you sleep?

The dog and the cat slept together

e – i

pedir

elegir

corregir

repetir

seguir

servir

reír

sonreír

freír

mentir

preferir

sentir

vestir

pedir

yo pedí

tú pediste

él, ella, usted pidió

nosotros pedimos

vosotros pedisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes pidieron

This group is much larger. It’s worth noting, that all of them end in -ir and match the same group of irregular verbs in Presente.

elegir

yo elegí

tú elegiste

él, ella, usted eligió

nosotros elegimos

vosotros elegisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes eligieron

Try it yourself:

repetir

yo …

tú …

él, ella, usted …

nosotros …

vosotros …

ellos, ellas, ustedes …

El profesor se sintió mal cuando yo respondí a su pregunta – The teacher felt bad, when I answered his question

Los turistas siguieron bañándose en el mar – The tourists kept on swimming in the sea

¿De que se rieron tus amigos? – What did your friends laugh at?

Try it yourself:

I asked for an ice cream, and she asked for mojito

What answer did you choose?

Alex and Natalia preferred to stay one more week in Ibiza

i – y

leer

creer

caer

construir

leer

yo leí

tú leíste

él, ella, usted leyó

nosotros leímos

vosotros leísteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes leyeron

This type of verbs is almos regular. The slight modification i – y (ió – yó, ieron – yeron) is produced in the third person to prevent three vocals from appearing together.

Leió and leieron would be harder to read, than leyó and leyeron.

Try it yourself:

caer

yo …

tú …

él, ella, usted …

nosotros …

vosotros …

ellos, ellas, ustedes …

¿Leyó usted las últimas noticias? – Did you read the latest news?

David se cayó por la escalera – David fell down the stairs

Ellos no me creyeron – They didn’t believe me

Try it yourself:

I built a house

My neighbour built a house

My neighbours built a house

I didn’t believe you

Did you believe me?

She believed us

They believed her

j-

decir

traer

conducir

producir

traducir

decir

yo dije

tú dijiste

él, ella, usted dijo

nosotros dijimos

vosotros dijisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes dijeron

traer

yo traje

tú trajiste

él, ella, usted trajo

nosotros trajimos

vosotros trajisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes trajeron

Try it yourself:

traducir

yo …

tú …

él, ella, usted …

nosotros …

vosotros …

ellos, ellas, ustedes …

In these verbs j appears right before the personal endings. Notice, that in the third person plural (ellos) there is no i in the ending.

Don’t say: dijieron, trajieron

Try it yourself:

Did you translate the text?

What did Antonio say?

I told you the truth

Last year many events were produced

u in each form

In this group u appears in every person. There can be other modifications or extra letters before the ending.

Some verbs just mimic the others.

tener

estar

andar

tener

yo tuve

tú tuviste

él, ella, usted tuvo

nosotros tuvimos

vosotros tuvisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes tuvieron

estar

yo estuve

tú estuviste

él, ella, usted estuvo

nosotros estuvimos

vosotros estuvisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes estuvieron

Try it yourself:

andar

yo …

tú …

él, ella, usted …

nosotros …

vosotros …

ellos, ellas, ustedes …

poder

saber

poner

poder

yo pude

tú pudiste

él, ella, usted pudo

nosotros pudimos

vosotros pudisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes pudieron

saber

yo supe

tú supiste

él, ella, usted supo

nosotros supimos

vosotros supisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes supieron

poner

yo puse

tú pusiste

él, ella, usted puso

nosotros pusimos

vosotros pusisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes pusieron

¿Pudiste publicar el anuncio? – Could you publish the announcement?

Siempre lo supe – I always knew it

Lola puso la tarjeta en el bolso – Lola put the card into the purse

Try it yourself:

When did you know the news?

I put on the pants

I couldn’t find her

i in each form

hacer

querer

venir

dar

hacer

yo hice

tú hiciste

él, ella, usted hizo

nosotros hicimos

vosotros hicisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes hicieron

querer

yo quise

tú quisiste

él, ella, usted quiso

nosotros quisimos

vosotros quisisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes quisieron

Try it yourself:

venir

yo vine

tú …

él, ella, usted …

nosotros …

vosotros …

ellos, ellas, ustedes …

Dar is a very short word. Only the d letter remains in its stem, to which personal endings are then added.

dar

yo di

tú diste

él, ella, usted dio

nosotros dimos

vosotros disteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes dieron

Luis trajo un cubo y lo dio a Lucía – Luis brought a bucket and gave it to Lucia

Vine a la oficina temprano y pude hacer muchas cosas – I came to the office early and could do many things

Try it yourself:

You wanted to buy a Tesla, and you did it

Yesterday Silvio came to see me, and he brought some presents

What did the investors finally do?

They gave us money

ir, ser

Two special verbs remain ungrouped. They have their own forms. At first sight, it might seem strange, but they are conjugated identically in Indefinido.

ir

yo fui

tú fuiste

él, ella, usted fue

nosotros fuimos

vosotros fuisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes fueron

¿Adónde fuiste? – Where did you go?

Fui a la piscina – I went to the swimming pool

ser

yo fui

tú fuiste

él, ella, usted fue

nosotros fuimos

vosotros fuisteis

ellos, ellas, ustedes fueron

Tú y yo siempre fuimos amigos – Me and you always were friends

There must be some historical explanation, why ir and ser have the same forms in Indefinido. However, it doesn’t affect comprehension. The meaning is always unambiguous. The context and the grammar make the difference.

Try it yourself:

Yesterday we went to a concert

The concert was very interesting

Just don’t confuse ser and estar. If you come across a sentence like Yo fui a la playa, don’t translate it as I was on the beach. The a preposition shows, that it’s a movement. Besides, if it were I was on the beach, the verb estar would be applied: Yo estuve en la playa.

So, I went to the beach and I was on the beach are two completely different sentences.

Yo fui a la playa

Yo estuve en la playa

Don’t say: Yo fui en la playa