• Programs
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Adults
    • School Solutions
  • School Solutions
  • Pricing
  • How it Works
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Cart
  • Login
  • Try a Free Class
logo

855-997-4652 LOGINTRY A FREE CLASS

  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Adults
    • School Solutions
  • School Solutions
  • Pricing
  • How it Works
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Cart
  • Login
  • Try a Free Class
  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Adults
    • School Solutions
  • School Solutions
  • Pricing
  • How it Works
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Cart
  • Login
  • Try a Free Class
logo

855-997-4652 LOGINTRY A FREE CLASS

  • Programs
    • Preschool
    • Elementary School
    • Middle School
    • High School
    • Adults
    • School Solutions
  • School Solutions
  • Pricing
  • How it Works
  • Testimonials
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • My Cart
  • Login
  • Try a Free Class
November 15, 2020 by Ashley Reid Spanish Grammar 0 comments

50 Irregular Preterite Spanish Verbs You Want to Use Often

Are you ready to conquer irregular preterite Spanish verbs?

When you’re in the throws of mastering Spanish verbs, it may feel like one long-drawn, never-ending repetition of conjugation drills—and sometimes it has to be that way. But you can avoid becoming overwhelmed by the endless volume of conjugations (especially those you’re about to see in this blog post!) through a few tricks we’ll discuss.

Are you ready?

First, I’ll share with you the 50 most common irregular Spanish preterite verbs, which fall into one of six different categories. Second, we’ll cover how you can recognize important patterns that reduce the amount you’ll have to memorize. And finally, we’ll explore a set of tried-and-true tricks to improve your grammar proficiency faster. 

¡Vamos a aprender conjugaciones!

50 Most Common Irregular Preterite Spanish Verbs

As you look at the following verb charts, you’ll notice that most of the verbs change only slightly in almost imperceptible ways. In fact, many of these stem-changing irregular preterite Spanish verbs even trip up native speakers! So make sure you pat yourself on the back for the hard work you’re putting in to memorize these verbs and use them correctly. 

While it may be tempting to tackle all of the verbs in this blog post at once, give yourself the chance to absorb them one group at a time.  Or, focus on mastering only one or two verbs before moving on. As you listen to podcasts, songs, audiobooks or radio programs in Spanish, look out for the native usage of these irregular preterite Spanish verbs. What’s more, include them in your written and spoken Spanish as often as possible to keep up your practice. 

When Patterns Emerge

As you begin to study these irregular preterite Spanish verbs, you may notice certain consistent patterns by which you can group some sets of verbs. These patterns will help you easily remember the irregular forms. Three major patterns you should look out for are:

  1. Verbs that have complete base changes in all conjugations do not take the normal accent marks found in preterite tenses

    Tener
    Correct: yo tuve, él tuvo
    *Incorrect: yo *tuvé, él *tuvó

  2. Verbs with base changes in all conjugations often have an –e ending for the yo form, despite the vast majority being -ER and -IR verbs.

    Hacer
    Correct: yo hice
    *Incorrect: yo *hicí

  3. Verbs with base changes in all conjugations usually use -ER and -IR endings for most conjugations, even if the verb is an -AR verb.

    Estar
    Correct: tú estuviste, nosotros estuvimos, ellos estuvieron
    *Incorrect: tú *estuvaste, nosotros *estuvamos, ellos *estuvaron

Irregular Preterite Spanish Verb Charts

Alright, let’s dive into the wonders of irregular preterite Spanish verbs!

1. Stem-changing Verbs

Just like there are stem-changing verbs in the simple present tense, the largest group of irregular preterite Spanish verbs includes small stem changes. In the following charts, look for the bolded letters that represent the change. 

There are a few different types of preterite stem changes, but for each verb, they only occur in the third-person (plus usted) conjugations. In other words, the conjugations are normal except for the usted, él, ella, ustedes, and ellos forms. 

Vowel Change: E to I

The first set of stem-changing verbs changes the –e- to –i- in the third-person preterite tense.

SentirServirPedir
Yosentíservípedí
Túsentisteservistepediste
Ustedsintiósirviópidió
Él, ellasintiósirviópidió
Nosotrossentimosservimospedimos
Ustedessintieronsirvieronpidieron
Ellossintieronsirvieronpidieron
ConseguirVestirseSugerir
YoconseguíMe vestísugerí
TúconseguisteTe vestistesugeriste
UstedconsiguióSe vistiósugirió
Él, ellaconsiguióSe vistiósugirió
NosotrosconseguimosNos vestimossugerimos
UstedesconsiguieronSe vistieronsugirieron
EllosconsiguieronSe vistieronsugirieron
RepetirDespedirseDivertirse
YorepetíMe despedíMe divertí
TúrepetisteTe despedisteTe divertiste
UstedrepitióSe despidióSe divirtió
Él, ellarepitióSe despidióSe divirtió
NosotrosrepetimosNos despedimosNos divertimos
UstedesrepitieronSe despidieronSe divirtieron
EllosrepitieronSe despidieronSe divirtieron

Vowel Change: O to U

Our second group is much smaller, and this one changes the –o- to –u-.

DormirMorir
Yodormímorí
Túdormistemoriste
Usteddurmiómurió
Él, elladurmiómurió
Nosotrosdormimosmorimos
Ustedesdurmieronmurieron
Ellosdurmieronmurieron
irregular preterite verbs in spanish
“Sigue aprendiendo, lo estás haciendo muy bien”

Vowel Change: Add -y-

This group of stem-changing verbs applies to verbs that end in -aer, -eer, oír, or -oer. The verb conjugations for usted, ustedes, él/ella, and ellos/ellas convert the -i- to -y- while the verbs with tú and nosotros use an irregular accent: -í-.

Pro Tip: Note that all singular verbs (caí, caíste, cayó) are two to three syllable verbs with two vowels side by side. 

CaerLeerOír
Yocaíleíoí
Túcaísteleísteoíste
Ustedcayóleyóoyó
Él, ellacayóleyóoyó
Nosotroscaímosleímosoímos
Ustedescayeronleyeronoyeron
Elloscayeronleyeronoyeron

Similar to the previous group that ends in -aer, -eer, oír, or -oer, concluir replaces -i- with -y- for él, ella, usted, and ustedes. However, it doesn’t make use of an extra accent mark like we saw with caíste and oímos, for example

Concluir
Yoconcluí
Túconcluiste
Ustedconcluyó
Él, ellaconcluyó
Nosotrosconcluimos
Ustedesconcluyeron
Ellosconcluyeron

Vowel Change: Omission of Accents

Remember that it’s not only the addition of tildes that makes a verb irregular, but also the omission of them. This group of stem-changing irregular preterite Spanish verbs does just that—it omits accented letters that are found in the infinitive. 

For example, reír and sonreír both change in the same way due to their identical base, reír. While using these verbs with usted, él, ella, ustedes, and ellos, simply remove the e and use the regular endings (-ió, -eron). 

ReírSonreír
Yoreísonreí
Túreístesonreíste
Ustedriósonrió
Él, ellariósonrió
Nosotrosreímossonreímos
Ustedesrieronsonrieron
Ellosrieronsonrieron

2. Base with -uv-

In our second group of irregular preterite Spanish verbs, there is a complete change in the stem—and not only in a few conjugations, but in all of them. The base completely changes before adding preterite endings. 

Because of the base change, the verbs (even with regular preterite endings) don’t use any accent marks. 

AndarEstarTener
Yoanduveestuvetuve
Túanduvisteestuvistetuviste
Ustedanduvoestuvotuvo
Él, ellaanduvoestuvotuvo
Nosotrosanduvimosestuvimostuvimos
Ustedesanduvieronestuvierontuvieron
Ellosanduvieronestuvierontuvieron
ContenerDetenerRetener
Yocontuvedetuveretuve
Túcontuvistedetuvisteretuviste
Ustedcontuvodetuvoretuvo
Él, ellacontuvodetuvoretuvo
Nosotroscontuvimosdetuvimosretuvimos
Ustedescontuvierondetuvieronretuvieron
Elloscontuvierondetuvieronretuvieron

Do you notice anything special about the conjugations for contener, detener, and retener? 

Yes, they look like the tener conjugations! 

Because these verbs contain the base tener, they are conjugated in the exact same way as tener. This actually makes your job of memorization much easier, because you only need to remember tener. Once you understand the tener form, you can quickly conjugate any verb that contains tener!

3. Base with -i-

Our next group is similar to the stem-changing verbs that we saw in the first section, except that these vowel changes occur in every single conjugation. Just like with the -uv- verbs in #2, the following verbs with an -i- in the base do not use the regular preterite accent marks.

These first few verbs follow a pattern like what we saw with tener. Focus on memorizing venir and then apply those endings to verbs that contain venir, like convenir and prevenir.

VenirConvenirPrevenir
Yovineconvineprevine
Túvinisteconvinistepreviniste
Ustedvinoconvinoprevino
Él, ellavinoconvinoprevino
Nosotrosvinimosconvinimosprevinimos
Ustedesvinieronconvinieronprevinieron
Ellosvinieronconvinieronprevinieron

Hacer is a unique irregular verb. While it does have an -i- in the base, there is an additional change in the usted, él, and ella forms: the -c- changes to -z-! While this change may seem unnecessary, it’s actually done to maintain the soft “s” sound of the pronunciation. 

Like tener and venir, hacer forms the base of other verbs. Once you know the preterite conjugations of hacer, you can easily master verbs like deshacer and rehacer.

HacerDeshacerRehacer
Yohicedeshicerehice
Túhicistedeshicisterehiciste
Ustedhizodeshizorehizo
Él, ellahizodeshizorehizo
Nosotroshicimosdeshicimosrehicimos
Ustedeshicierondeshicieronrehicieron
Elloshicierondeshicieronrehicieron

Our final verb whose base changes to -i- is unique in that two letters change, not one. The base of querer changes from quer- to quis-. This base is in all of the conjugations. 

Querer
Yoquise
Túquisiste
Ustedquiso
Él, ellaquiso
Nosotrosquisimos
Ustedesquisieron
Ellosquisieron

4. Base with -u-

The following verbs each have a vowel that changes to -u-. Similar to querer, another letter changes as well. As you’ll see, the -u- is followed by -d-, -s-, or -p-. 

Take note that poder is the only verb in this group that uses -ud- and maintains the -d- from its original form. 

Additionally, poner uses -us-, and is essential to memorize because it’s the base for numerous other verbs like componer and proponer.

PoderPonerComponer
Yopudepusecompuse
Túpudistepusistecompusiste
Ustedpudopusocompuso
Él, ellapudopusocompuso
Nosotrospudimospusimoscompusimos
Ustedespudieronpusieroncompusieron
Ellospudieronpusieroncompusieron
DescomponerDisponerProponer
Yodescompusedispusepropuse
Túdescompusistedispusistepropusiste
Usteddescompusodispusopropuso
Él, elladescompusodispusopropuso
Nosotrosdescompusimosdispusimospropusimos
Ustedesdescompusierondispusieronpropusieron
Ellosdescompusierondispusieronpropusieron

The only three verbs that have the -up- form are caber, haber, and saber. One way to remember them is to recognize that they’re the only verbs in this group that change -a- to -u-, whereas the other verbs change from -o- to -u-. 

CaberHaberSaber
Yocupehubesupe
Túcupistehubistesupiste
Ustedcupohubosupo
Él, ellacupohubosupo
Nosotroscupimoshubimossupimos
Ustedescupieronhubieronsupieron
Elloscupieronhubieronsupieron

As you learn the irregular form of haber, remember that this verb is incredibly special. It has two meanings: the auxiliary verb “to have” and “there is/there are.” If you want to say “there was” in singular or “there was” in plural, ONLY use hubo. 

The other forms of haber are used exclusively in compound verb structures, but aren’t common. 

5. Base with -j-

This group is important to memorize because it contains one of the most common verbs: decir. While the forms may seem strange, it’s crucial to practice them frequently because you’ll use decir in most of your Spanish conversations.

The first three verbs with -j- in the stem look similar:they all end in -ducir. And like all other verbs that have complete base changes, there are no accent marks.

ConducirProducirTraducir
Yocondujeprodujetraduje
Túcondujisteprodujistetradujiste
Ustedcondujoprodujotradujo
Él, ellacondujoprodujotradujo
Nosotroscondujimosprodujimostradujimos
Ustedescondujeronprodujerontradujeron
Elloscondejeronprodujerontradujeron

Decir, apart from being a crucial part of written and spoken Spanish, also makes up the structure of other more complex verbs. Note that the -e- in decir also changes to -i-, making this a completely unique verb.

DecirContradecirPredecir
Yodijecontradijepredije
Túdijistecontradijistepredijiste
Usteddijocontradijopredijo
Él, elladijocontradijopredijo
Nosotrosdijimoscontradijimospredijimos
Ustedesdijeroncontradijeronpredijeron
Ellosdijeroncontradijeronpredijeron

The last verb in our list that uses -j- is traer. This verb is similar to the other verbs in #5, except that it doesn’t end in -ir. 

Traer
Yotraje
Tútrajiste
Ustedtrajo
Él, ellatrajo
Nosotrostrajimos
Ustedestrajeron
Ellostrajeron

6. Special Irregular Verbs

Of course, there are completely irregular verbs that don’t follow any particular pattern. Luckily, there are only four, and they are quite similar to one another.

For example, the preterite form of ir and ser are conjugated identically. Without an obvious difference, how do you know which verb is being used? The answer is context clues! Normally, the verb ir precedes a place, while ser precedes an adjective.

IrSer
Yofuifui
Túfuistefuiste
Ustedfuefue
Él, ellafuefue
Nosotrosfuimosfuimos
Ustedesfueronfueron
Ellosfueronfueron

The last two irregular preterite Spanish verbs, dar and ver, have different endings for the infinitive form, but their preterite changes are exactly the same. 

DarVer
Yodivi
Túdisteviste
Usteddiovio
Él, elladiovio
Nosotrosdimosvimos
Ustedesdieronvieron
Ellosdieronvieron
free spanish class online trial

Practice Makes Perfect!

50 irregular preterite Spanish verbs are a lot to memorize, so be sure to bookmark this blog post and come back for quick reference! By using the patterns and groups we’ve shared with you above, you can easily tackle the irregular preterite Spanish verbs in no time. Use these verbs as often as possible in both spoken and written Spanish, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes!

For additional practice and more grammar tips, join our interactive, Spanish-loving community on Facebook!

Want more free Spanish grammar lessons? Check out these posts!

  • 38 Regular IR and ER Verbs in Spanish You Can Master Today
  • Entender Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson and PDF
  • Ir + a + Infinitive: The Near Future Tense in Spanish
  • 9 Coordinating Conjunctions in Spanish Essential to Know
  • Solo vs Solamente: What’s the Difference?
  • A Comprehensive Lesson on Demonstrative Adjectives in Spanish
  • Using Diminutives in Spanish for More Colorful Conversations
  • A Simple Intermediate Guide to Subjunctive Conditional Spanish
  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Ashley Reid
Ashley Reid
Freelance Writer at Homeschool Spanish Academy
I have a B.A. in Linguistics and a passion for Spanish. I've lived in Latin America for almost a decade. I'm a freelance writer and ESL teacher, as well as a loving mom and wife. In my free time, I dabble in art and music.
Ashley Reid
Latest posts by Ashley Reid (see all)
  • Ir + a + Infinitive: The Near Future Tense in Spanish - February 26, 2021
  • Latin American Food: 15 Must-Try National Dishes of Latin America - January 2, 2021
  • The Ultimate Guide to Subjunctive Conjugation in Spanish - December 27, 2020
spanish grammar
0

Related Posts

Spanish commands

Spanish Commands: How to Form Them and Use Them with Your Crew

February 19, 2019
Read More
Spanish greetings

How Are You? Spanish Greetings

February 6, 2019
Read More
spanish pronouns

Spanish Pronouns

February 11, 2019
Read More
vos in Spanish

Vos and its use in Spanish – Voseo

March 28, 2019
Read More

Leave a Comment! Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

A Brief Introduction to Latin American Culture, Traditions, and BeliefsPrevious Post
We Offer Online Spanish Classes for High School Credit at HSANext Post

About Us

HSA offers Spanish curricula for all ages. Schedule classes on any day of the week – you can take them on your own, or share a class and save money! We make it easy to learn at your own pace. LEARN MORE >

Resources

  • About
  • Get a Transcript
  • Take a Free Class
  • FAQs
  • How it Works
  • Partners

Recent Posts

  • 38 Regular IR and ER Verbs in Spanish You Can Master Today
    38 Regular IR and ER Verbs in Spanish You Can Master Today
    March 1, 2021
    Regular IR and ER verbs in Spanish are...
  • Entender Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson and PDF
    Entender Conjugation: Free Spanish Lesson and PDF
    March 1, 2021
    Are you ready to understand the entender...

Terms & Conditions Privacy Policy Contact UsSitemap© 2021 HSA. All rights reserved.