Mastering Regular and Irregular Verbs in the Spanish Preterit Tense , LEVEL B1

 

Regular Verbs in the Preterit

Most verbs in Spanish follow a regular pattern in the preterit tense. Let's break them down by their endings: -ar, -er, and -ir.

1. Regular -ar Verbs

To conjugate a regular -ar verb in the preterit, drop the infinitive ending and add:

-é, -aste, -ó, -amos, -asteis, -aron.

Subject	ayudar (to help)	pensar (to think)	recordar (to remember)	cantar (to sing)
yo	ayudé	pensé	recordé	canté
tú	ayudaste	pensaste	recordaste	cantaste
él / ella / Ud.	ayudó	pensó	recordó	cantó
nosotros	ayudamos	pensamos	recordamos	cantamos
vosotros	ayudasteis	pensasteis	recordasteis	cantasteis
ellos / ellas / Uds.	ayudaron	pensaron	recordaron	cantaron

💡 A Word About Pronunciation & Grammar:

• Watch the Accents: Notice that the first-person (yo) and third-person singular (él/ella/Ud.) forms carry written accent marks. Always stress the accented syllable when speaking (e.g., yo canté, Ud. cantó).

• The Present vs. Past Trick: The nosotros form for regular -ar verbs is identical to its present tense form. You will have to rely on context clues to know if someone is talking about the present or the past.

2. Regular -er and -ir Verbs

Good news! Regular -er and -ir verbs share the exact same endings in the preterit tense. Drop the infinitive ending and add:

-í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron.

-Er Verbs Examples:

• comer (to eat) & entender (to understand)

Subject	comer	entender	ver (to see)*
yo	comí	entendí	vi
tú	comiste	entendiste	viste
él / ella / Ud.	comió	entendió	vio
nosotros	comimos	entendimos	vimos
vosotros	comisteis	entendisteis	visteis
ellos / ellas / Uds.	comieron	entendieron	vieron

*Note on "ver": The verb ver is regular, but it does not carry an accent mark on the yo (vi) or él/ella/Ud. (vio) forms because they are only one syllable.

-Ir Verbs Examples:

• compartir (to share), descubrir (to discover), & salir (to leave/go out)

Subject	compartir	descubrir	salir
yo	compartí	descubrí	salí
tú	compartiste	descubriste	saliste
él / ella / Ud.	compartió	descubrió	salió
nosotros	compartimos	descubrimos	salimos
vosotros	compartisteis	descubristeis	salisteis
ellos / ellas / Uds.	compartieron	descubrieron	salieron

⚠️ Just like -ar verbs, the nosotros form of regular -ir verbs is identical to the present indicative form. Context is key!

-Ir Verbs with Stem Changes (Third Person Only)

Some -ir verbs have a slight "glitch" in the preterit. They experience a stem change, but only in the third-person singular (él/ella/Ud.) and plural (ellos/ellas/Uds.) forms.

• mentir (to lie) — e changes to i

• pedir (to request/ask for) — e changes to i

• dormir (to sleep) — o changes to u

Subject	mentir	pedir	dormir
yo	mentí	pedí	dormí
tú	mentiste	pediste	dormiste
él / ella / Ud.	mintió	pidió	durmió
nosotros	mentimos	pedimos	dormimos
vosotros	mentisteis	pedisteis	dormisteis
ellos / ellas / Uds.	mintieron	pidieron	durmieron

Irregular Verbs in the Preterit

Verbs that are completely irregular in the preterit use an irregular stem combined with a special set of endings.

The special endings are: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Notice that none of these irregular endings carry accent marks!

Examples of Irregular Stems:

• andar (to walk/stroll) ➔ Irregular Stem: anduv-

• caber (to fit inside something) ➔ Irregular Stem: cup-

Subject	andar (anduv-)	caber (cup-)
yo	anduve	cupe
tú	anduviste	cupiste
él / ella / Ud.	anduvo	cupo
nosotros	anduvimos	cupimos
vosotros	anduvisteis	cupisteis
ellos / ellas / Uds.	anduvieron	cupieron