66 Preterite of –AR, -ER, and –IR verbs and hacer and ir
Topics Notes What is the preterite? The preterite tense is used to talk about what happened or what someone did at a specific point in the past.
-AR endings Step 1: drop the ending comprar compr-
Step 2: add the appropriate ending Comprar: to buy Compré compramos compraste comprasteis compró compraron
Notice that in the preterite, the nosotros form of –AR
verbs looks exactly like the present tense form. You will have to use context to decide whether the speaker is talking in the present or the past.
Stem changing –AR verbs do not stem change in the
preterite. The preterite of ir To say where someone went in the past, use ir (to go) in the preterite. It’s preterite forms are irregular. Yo fui Nosotros fuimos Tú fuiste Vosotros fuisteis Él Ellos Ella fue Ellas fueron Usted Ustedes The preterite of –ER and – Step 1: drop the ending volver volv IR verbs Escribir escrib Step 2: add the appropriate ending Volver: to return Escribir: to write Volví Volvimos Escribí Escribimos Volviste Volvisteis Escribiste Escribisteis Volvió Volvieron Escribió Escribieron
Regular –ER and –IR have the same endings in the
preterite. Stem changing –ER verbs do not stem change in the preterite. The preterite of hacer To say what someone did or made in the past, use hacer (to do, to make) in the preterite. It’s preterite forms are irregular. Yo hice Nosotros hicimos Tú hiciste Vosotros hicisteis Él Ellos Ella hizo Ellas hicieron Usted Ustedes
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