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Spanish I - The Preterite Tense

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    Study Guide Spanish I – The Preterite Tense 1. Quiz: Regular Verbs in the Preterite Tense 1. Question Ayer nosotros _____ en la clase de educación física. Answer Choices • Bailamos • Bailaste • bailaron Correct Answer bailamos Why This Is Correct The subject nosotros uses the first - person plural verb form. • bailamos = we danced (past tense) • ayer indicates the past, and bailamos correctly agrees with nosotros So the correct sentence is: Ayer nosotros bailamos en la clase de educación física. Why the Other Options Are Incorrect • bailaste → second - person singular ( you danced ) • bailaron → third - person plural ( they danced ) ✔ Therefore, bailamos is the correct answer . 2. Question Ricardo _____ a Mario anoche.

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    Study Guide Answer Choices • Conocí • Conocieron • conoció Correct Answer conoció Why This Is Correct • Ricardo is third person singular . • Anoche signals the preterite tense (completed action in the past). • The correct preterite form of conocer for he/she is conoció . So the correct sentence is: Ricardo conoció a Mario anoche. Why the others are incorrect: • conocí → first person singular ( I met ) • conocieron → third person plural ( they met ) Therefore, conoció is the correct answer . 3. Question José y Juan _____ cinco kilómetros durante el fin de semana. Answer Choices • Corrió • Corrieron • corriste

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    Study Guide Correct Answer corrieron Why This Is Correct José y Juan is a plural subject (two people), so the verb must be in the third person plural form. • corrieron = they ran (él/ella → corrió, ellos → corrieron ) Why the others are incorrect: • corrió → singular (he/she ran) • corriste → second person singular (you ran) Therefore, corrieron is the correct answer . 4. Question Yo _____ por cuatro horas anoche. Answer Choices • trabajé • Trabajó • trabajaron Correct Answer trabajé Why This Is Correct • Yo is first person singular . • Anoche indicates the preterite tense (a completed action in the past). • The correct preterite form of trabajar for yo is trabajé .

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    Study Guide Explanation by elimination: • trabajé → yo form, preterite tense • trabajó → él/ella/usted form • trabajaron → ellos/ellas/ustedes form Example: Yo trabajé por cuatro horas anoche. 5. Question Mis amigos _____ a mis padres a su fiesta. Answer Choices • Invitamos • Invitaron • invite Correct Answer invitaron Why This Is Correct • Mis amigos is third person plural (they). • The verb must agree with the subject in person and number . • Invitaron is the third person plural form of invitar in the past tense (preterite). Mis amigos invitaron a mis padres a su fiesta. Why the Other Options Are Incorrect • invitamos → first person plural ( we invited ) • invité → first person singular ( I invited ) Only invitaron matches mis amigos .

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    Study Guide 6. Question Yo _____ en México por dos años. Answer Choices • Viví • Vivió • viviste Correct Answer viví Why This Is Correct The subject yo uses the first - person singular form of the verb vivir in the preterite tense (past, completed action). • yo → viví So the correct sentence is: Yo viví en México por dos años. Why the Other Options Are Incorrect • vivió → third person singular ( él / ella / usted ) • viviste → second person singular ( tú ) viví correctly matches the subject yo and the past time expression por dos años . 7. Question ¿_____ tú a las siete de la noche? Answer Choices • Volví • Volvió • Volviste

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    Study Guide Correct Answer Volviste Why This Is Correct The subject tú requires the second - person singular form of the verb volver in the preterite tense . • tú → volviste Correct sentence: ¿ Volviste tú a las siete de la noche? Why the Other Options Are Incorrect • Volví → first person singular ( yo ) • Volvió → third person singular ( él / ella / usted ) Volviste correctly agrees with tú and fits the question format. 8. Question Las mujeres _____ helados en el parque. Answer Choices • Vendimos • Vendisteis • vendieron Correct Answer vendieron Why This Is Correct The subject Las mujeres is third person plural (ellas) . In the preterite tense of vender , the correct conjugation for ellas is vendieron . So the correct sentence is:

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    Study Guide Las mujeres vendieron helados en el parque. Why the Other Options Are Incorrect • vendimos → first person plural ( nosotros / nosotras ) • vendisteis → second person plural ( vosotros ), not used with las mujeres vendieron correctly agrees with the subject Las mujeres . 2. Different Yo Forms in the Preterite Tense Spanish spelling rules are very consistent. Because of this, sometimes the spelling of a verb must change so that the pronunciation stays the same . This happens with certain verbs in the yo form of the preterite tense . When endings like – é or – í are added, the sound of the verb could change. To prevent that, Spanish adjusts the spelling — but only in the yo form . 2.1 Verbs That End in – gar In Spanish, the letter g can have: • a hard sound (like g in good ), or • a soft sound (like g in gym ). Verbs that end in – gar have a hard g sound in the infinitive. However, when you form the yo preterite , the ending – é would normally make the g sound soft. That would change the pronunciation, which Spanish avoids. What Spanish Does To keep the hard g sound , a u is added before the é . • g → gu (yo form only) • The u is silent — it is never pronounced. gar verbs change g to gu in the yo preterite form.

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    Study Guide Example • pagar → pagué • (Pronounced pah - GAY ) All other forms of the verb stay regular. 2.2 Verbs That End in – car The letter c also has two sounds: • hard c (like k ), • soft c (like s ). In verbs ending in – car , the c is hard in the infinitive. But when you add – é for the yo preterite, the c would become soft — and that changes the sound.

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    Study Guide What Spanish Does To keep the hard k sound, Spanish changes: • c → qu (yo form only) The letters qu always sound like k , and the u is silent . 2.3 Easy Rule to Remember car verbs change c to qu in the yo preterite form. Example • tocar → toqué

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    Study Guide 2.4 Verbs That End in – zar In Spanish, z cannot come before e . When this happens, z changes to c . Because the yo preterite ending is – é , verbs that end in – zar must change spelling. What Spanish Does • z → c (yo form only) Easy Rule to Remember zar verbs change z to c in the yo preterite form. Example • cruzar → crucé

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