The Spanish Preterite (
Irregular Verbs in Spanish Preterite
First of all, let’s review when to use the Spanish Preterite. It is used to describe past actions, to express a sequence of past actions and it is also very common to use the Spanish Preterite to talk about people’s biographies.
There are some irregular verbs in Spanish Preterite that you need to study by heart. These are the verbs
The verbs we will now examine are irregular both in their stem and in their endings. These are the verbs
| Stem | |
Now, let’s look at some examples with these irregular verbs in Spanish Preterite.
Estar in Preterite
Here are the forms of
| Estar |
| Estuve Estuviste Estuvo Estuvimos Estuvisteis Estuvieron |
La semana pasada estuve en casa de mi abuelo y preparó un pastel.
Last week I was at my grandpa’s house and he made a cake.
La fiesta estuvo muy bien. Me encantó la música y el lugar
The party was great. I loved the music and the place.
La semana pasada no estuviste en clase. ¿Qué te pasó?
Last week you weren’t in class. What happened to you?
El verano pasado estuvisteis en la ciudad de Milán. ¿Os gustó?
You were in the city of Milan last summer. Did you like it?
Poder in Preterite
The verb
| Poder |
| Pude Pudiste Pudo Pudimos Pudisteis Pudieron |
Pudimos coger el tren de las cinco en punto. Llegamos a tiempo.
We could take the train at five o’clock. We arrived on time.
El pájaro pudo escaparse de la jaula. Alex se olvidó cerrar la puerta.
The bird was able to escape from the cage. Alex forgot to close the door.
Victoria no pudo ir a la casa de sus abuelos el fin de semana pasado.
Victoria couldn’t go to her grandparents’ house last weekend.
No pudimos encontrar las llaves de la casa. Fuimos a dormir a un hotel.
We couldn’t find the keys of the house. We went to sleep in a hotel.
Poner in Preterite
| Poner |
| Puse Pusiste Puso Pusimos Pusisteis Pusieron |
Ellos te mintieron. No pusimos los libros en la estantería.
They lied to you. We did not put the books on the shelf.
Finalmente, puse el dinero sobre la mesa y me fui, pero decidí no volver.
Finally, I put the money on the table and left, but I decided not to come back.
Pusieron sus abrigos en el sofá y se sentaron con el resto de la familia.
They put their coats on the sofa and sat down with the rest of the family.
Pusimos todos nuestros objetos personales en una bolsa de plástico.
We put all out personal belongings into a plastic bag.
Saber in Preterite
Here are the forms of
| Saber |
| Supe Supiste Supo Supimos Supisteis Supieron |
No supimos arreglar la lavadora y tuvimos que llamar a un técnico.
We didn’t know how to fix the washing machine and we had to call a technician.
Nunca supieron la verdad. No tuvieron la oportunidad de leer el testamento.
They never knew the truth. They didn’t have the chance to read the testament.
Vosotros supisteis calmar al perro enfermo de los vecinos.
You knew how to calm the neighbor’s sick dog.
Ella supo sobre el terremoto en India por televisión ayer.
She found out about the earthquake in India on TV yesterday.
Tener in Preterite
Let’s finish reviewing these irregular verbs in Spanish Preterite with the forms of
| Tener |
| Tuve Tuviste Tuvo Tuvimos Tuvisteis Tuvieron |
Tuve un gato blanco y negro muy cariñoso. Se escapó el año pasado.
I had a really loving black and white cat. It ran away last year.
Patricio y Daniela tuvieron un viaje precioso. Pasaron su luna de miel en Formentera.
Patricio and Daniela had a lovely trip. They spent their honeymoon in Formentera.
Montserrat y Luis tuvieron un bebé el año pasado. Se llama Raúl.
Montserrat and Luis had a baby last year. His name is Raúl.
En la casa rural tuvimos miedo de los jabalíes. Hay muchos en el bosque.
In the rural house we were afraid of wild boars. There are many in the forest.
Exercises
Let’s do some exercises to practice the irregular verbs in Spanish Preterite we have seen in this article.