Irregular Preterite in Spanish
The preterite describes finished actions in the past. Regular verbs are easy, but many of the most common verbs are irregular. The good news is that they follow a few patterns, so you can learn them in groups instead of one by one.
Quick answer
- Ir and ser share the same forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron
- Many verbs use a new stem and no accents: tuve, estuve, pude, puse, supe, quise
- Stems with j drop the i in ellos: dijeron, trajeron
Ir and ser: the same forms
Ir (to go) and ser (to be) have the same preterite forms. Context tells you which verb it is. Fui al mercado is “I went to the market,” and Fue un día largo is “It was a long day.”
| Person | Form |
|---|---|
| yo | fui |
| tú | fuiste |
| él, ella, usted | fue |
| nosotros | fuimos |
| ellos, ustedes | fueron |
Examples
- Ayer fui al cine con mis amigos.Yesterday I went to the movies with my friends.Fui from ir.
- La fiesta fue muy divertida.The party was very fun.Fue from ser.
- ¿Fuiste a la reunión?Did you go to the meeting?Fuiste from ir.
- Fuimos a Oaxaca en verano.We went to Oaxaca in the summer.Fuimos from ir.
New stems: tener, estar, poder, poner, saber, querer
These verbs change their stem and use one set of endings with no accent marks: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -ieron. Notice that the yo and él forms do not have accents.
| Infinitive | Stem | Yo form |
|---|---|---|
| tener | tuv- | tuve |
| estar | estuv- | estuve |
| poder | pud- | pude |
| poner | pus- | puse |
| saber | sup- | supe |
| querer | quis- | quise |
| venir | vin- | vine |
| hacer | hic- | hice |
Examples
- Tuve mucho trabajo ayer.I had a lot of work yesterday.Tener.
- Estuvimos en la playa tres días.We were at the beach for three days.Estar.
- No pude dormir anoche.I could not sleep last night.Poder.
- Ella vino a mi casa el sábado.She came to my house on Saturday.Venir.
- Hizo mucho calor ayer.It was very hot yesterday.Hacer: hizo changes c to z.
Stems with j: decir, traer, conducir
Verbs with a j in the stem use the same endings, but ellos ends in -eron, not -ieron: dijeron, trajeron, condujeron.
| Infinitive | Yo | Ellos |
|---|---|---|
| decir | dije | dijeron |
| traer | traje | trajeron |
| conducir | conduje | condujeron |
Examples
- Le dije la verdad a mi madre.I told my mother the truth.Decir.
- Mis amigos trajeron refrescos.My friends brought sodas.Traer.
- Condujimos toda la noche.We drove all night.Conducir.
Spelling changes and stem changes
Some verbs change spelling in the yo form to keep the sound: busqué, llegué, empecé. Verbs like dormir and pedir change in the third person: durmió, pidió.
Examples
- Busqué mis llaves por todas partes.I looked for my keys everywhere.Buscar: c becomes qu.
- Llegué tarde al trabajo.I arrived late to work.Llegar: g becomes gu.
- Mi hermano durmió diez horas.My brother slept ten hours.Dormir: o becomes u.
- Pidieron una pizza.They ordered a pizza.Pedir: e becomes i.
Spanish around the world
- The preterite is used the same way in every country, but some Spanish speakers prefer the present perfect (he comido) for recent past, especially in Spain. In Mexico, the simple preterite (comí) is the norm.
Common mistakes
Incorrect: Yo tení mucho trabajo.
Correct: Tuve mucho trabajo.
Tener has an irregular stem in the preterite.
Incorrect: Ayer yo hací la tarea.
Correct: Ayer hice la tarea.
Hacer becomes hice.
Incorrect: Ellos dijieron la verdad.
Correct: Ellos dijeron la verdad.
J verbs drop the i in the ellos form.
Incorrect: Yo fuí al cine.
Correct: Yo fui al cine.
One-syllable preterite forms like fui and fue have no accent.
Remember the patterns
- Ir and ser have the same forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fueron.
- Irregular stems use -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -ieron with no accents.
- Stems with j use -eron: dijeron, trajeron.
Mini practice
5 quick questions. You get feedback right after each answer.
Frequently asked questions
How do I know if fue means ‘went’ or ‘was’?
Look at the rest of the sentence. A place after it usually means went (Fue a casa), and a description means was (Fue difícil).
Why do some preterite forms have no accent?
Irregular preterites such as tuve and dijo are not stressed on the last syllable, so no accent is needed.
Is ‘andar’ irregular in the preterite?
Yes. Andar becomes anduve, anduviste, anduvo.
When should I use preterite and when imperfect?
See our lesson on preterite vs. imperfect for the full guide.
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