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27. Irregular Verbs in the Past — Part 1

Source: video

A large group of Spanish verbs use irregular stems in the preterite. These verbs share a common set of "irregular preterite endings" — -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -(i)eron — but their stems shift dramatically. This chapter covers the tuv-, uv-, pus-, duj-, ij-, j-, hic-, vin- stem groups.

Key Rules

  • All these verbs share the same set of unstressed endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. (No written accents in yo/él.)
  • Verbs whose stem ends in j use -eron (not -ieron): dijeron, trajeron, condujeron.
  • The yo and él/ella forms in this group do not carry written accents (unlike regular preterites).
  • Hacer swaps c → z in the él form: hizo (to keep the soft "s" sound).

Conjugation / Pattern Tables

tener (tuv-) — to have

yo tuve nosotros tuvimos
tuviste vosotros tuvisteis
él tuvo ellos tuvieron

estar (estuv-) — to be

yo estuve nosotros estuvimos
estuviste vosotros estuvisteis
él estuvo ellos estuvieron

andar (anduv-) — to walk

yo anduve nosotros anduvimos
anduviste vosotros anduvisteis
él anduvo ellos anduvieron

poner (pus-) — to put

yo puse nosotros pusimos
pusiste vosotros pusisteis
él puso ellos pusieron

conducir (conduj-) — to drive

yo conduje nosotros condujimos
condujiste vosotros condujisteis
él condujo ellos condujeron

decir (dij-) — to say/tell

yo dije nosotros dijimos
dijiste vosotros dijisteis
él dijo ellos dijeron

traer (traj-) — to bring

yo traje nosotros trajimos
trajiste vosotros trajisteis
él trajo ellos trajeron

hacer (hic-/hiz-) — to do/make

yo hice nosotros hicimos
hiciste vosotros hicisteis
él hizo ellos hicieron

venir (vin-) — to come

yo vine nosotros vinimos
viniste vosotros vinisteis
él vino ellos vinieron

Examples

Spanish English
Yo tuve un gato. I had a cat.
Tú tuviste que hacer tu tarea. You had to do your homework.
Estuve en Madrid con él. I was in Madrid with him.
Yo puse mi teléfono aquí. I put my phone here.
¿Dónde pusiste mi camisa? Where did you put my shirt?
Yo te dije que voy a estar allí. I told you I'm going to be there.
Él me dijo eso ayer. He told me that yesterday.
Ellos nos dijeron que están ahí. They told us they're there.
¿Qué hiciste ayer? What did you do yesterday?
Yo hice mi tarea. I did my homework.
Nosotros hicimos la cama. We made the bed.
Ellos hicieron un pastel para nosotros. They made a cake for us.
¿De dónde viniste? Where did you come from?
Yo vine de mi casa. I came from my house.

Notes & Gotchas

  • Verbs with prefixes follow the parent verb: detener → detuve, obtener → obtuve, proponer → propuse, predecir → predije.
  • Hacerhizo (with z) for él/ella to preserve pronunciation.
  • Estar in preterite is used most often for completed presence in a location (you went there, you came back).
  • The j-stem verbs (decir, traer, conducir, traducir, producir) drop the i in the ellos ending: dijeron, not "dijieron."