Irregular Yo Forms in Spanish Preterite

The Preterite (Pretérito indefinido) is probably the most popular past tense in Spanish. As any other verb tense, it has regular and irregular forms. In this article, we are going to see the irregular yo forms in Spanish Preterite.

In Spanish, some verbs have irregular yo forms in Present. Other verbs have irregular yo forms in Spanish Preterite. These all belong to the group of –ar verbs. It means the rest of the forms follow the regular pattern for –ar verbs. Let’s see the four type of changes.

Irregular Yo Form: Z into C

All verbs that end with –zar change –z– into –c– in the yo form in Preterite. Some verbs are utilizar (to use), analizar (to analyze) or generalizar (to generalize).

Utilizar	Analizar	Generalizar
utilicé utilizaste utilizó utilizamos utilizasteis utilizaron	analicé analizaste analizó analizamos analizasteis analizaron	generalicé generalizaste generalizó generalizamos generalizasteis generalizaron

Utilicé la herramienta adecuada y lo arreglé.

I used the appropriate tool and fixed it.

Analicé la situación y decidí volver a casa.

I analyzed the situation and decided to go back home.

Simplemente generalicé la aplicación de su teoría.

I simply generalized the application of his theory.

Irregular Yo Form: C into QU

All verbs that end with –car change –c– into –qu– in the yo form in Preterite. For instance, explicar (to explain), tocar (to play) or buscar (to look for).

Explicar	Tocar	Buscar
expliqué explicaste explicó explicamos explicasteis explicaron	toqué tocaste tocó tocamos tocasteis tocaron	busqué buscaste buscó buscamos buscasteis buscaron

Te lo expliqué una vez. Después, ellos te lo explicaron otra vez.

I explained it to you once. Then, they explained it to you once again.

En el último concierto toqué el piano y la trompeta.

At the last concert I played the piano and the trumpet.

Busqué un alojamiento con pensión completa en Roma.

I looked for an accommodation with full board in Rome.

Irregular Yo Form: G into GU

All verbs that end with –gar change –g– into –gu– in the yo form in Preterite. For example, llegar (to arrive, to get), cargar (to load) or entregar (to hand in, to submit).

Llegar	Cargar	Entregar
llegué llegaste llegó llegamos llegasteis llegaron	cargué cargaste cargó cargamos cargasteis cargaron	entregué entregaste entregó entregamos entregasteis entregaron

Llegué tarde y no pude ver el concierto de mi hijo.

I was late and I couldn’t see my son’s concert.

Nadie me ayudó y cargué sola todas las maletas.

Nobody helped me out and I loaded all the suitcases myself.

Entregué el formulario en el ayuntamiento.

I handed in the form in the town hall.

Irregular Yo Form: GU into GÜ

Look at these verbs and notice that their stem ends in –uar: aguar (to spoil), averiguar (to find out) or apaciguar (to appease). In these cases, the yo form ends with –güé, while all others are built following the general rule.

Aguar	Averiguar	Apaciguar
agüé aguaste aguó aguamos aguasteis aguaron	averigüé averiguaste averiguó averiguamos averiguasteis averiguaron	apacigüé apaciguaste apaciguó apaciguamos apaciguasteis apaciguaron

Creo que le agüé su fiesta de cumpleaños.

I think I spoiled her birthday party.

Averigüé los detalles de mi billete. Mi vuelo sale a las seis.

I found out the details of my ticket. My flight leaves at six.

El perro ladró toda la noche. Lo apacigüé con un largo paseo.

The dog barked all night. I appeased it with a long walk.

As you know, the u in gue is silent. For example, yo llegué (I arrived). This is why the yo form uses –güé, so that it keeps the sound, just like the other forms.

Exercises

Let’s practice the irregular yo forms in Spanish Preterite tense with these exercises.

Irregular Yo Forms in Spanish Preterite