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Spanish II - The Past Tenses Preterit and Imperfect

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    Study Guide Spanish II – The Past Tenses Preterit and Imperfect 1. ‐ ar or ‐ er Verbs in the Preterit 1. 1 A Simple Rule to Remember When you use – ar or – er verbs in the preterit tense , there is no stem change . This rule is very important and very helpful! Even if a verb changes its stem in the present tense , it does not change its stem in the preterit tense . 1.2 What This Means for You You may already know that some verbs change their stem in the present tense. For example, pensar (to think) changes from e → ie in the present tense. But here is the key point: That stem change disappears in the preterit tense. So when you talk about something that happened in the past, you use the regular preterit forms without changing the stem. Example: Pensar in the Preterit

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    Study Guide The verb pensar is a great example to study. Look carefully at the table below: • The stem pens - stays the same in all forms. • There is no e → ie stem change anywhere. • Only the preterit endings change depending on the subject. This pattern applies to all – ar and – er verbs in the preterit tense. 2. Stem Changers in the Preterit Stem - changing verbs work a little differently in the preterit tense , especially – ir verbs . 2. 1 Important Rule for – ir Verbs Only – ir verbs have stem changes in the preterit tense . However, the stem change happens only in the third - person forms : • él • ella • usted • ellos • ellas • ustedes Yo, tú, nosotros/nosotras, and vosotros/vosotras do NOT have stem changes in the preterit. 2 .2 – ir Verbs with o → u Stem Change If an – ir verb changes o → ue in the present tense, it changes to o → u in the preterit. Example: morir (to die) • Present tense: o → ue • Preterit tense: o → u (only in third person) The verb dormir (to sleep) follows the same pattern .

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    Study Guide 2. 3 – ir Verbs with e → i Stem Change Some – ir verbs change e → ie in the present tense. In the preterit tense, these verbs change e → i , again only in the third person forms . Example: preferir (to prefer) Notice that: • The second “e” in preferir changes • This is the same letter that changes in the present tense

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    Study Guide 2.4 Common – ir Verbs Like Preferir Here are some common – ir verbs that follow the e → i stem - change pattern in the preterit: These verbs only change their stem in the third - person forms . 2.5 Another Example: Servir (to serve) The verb servir also follows the e → i stem - change rule in the preterit. • No stem change for yo, tú, nosotros, vosotros • Stem change only for él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas, ustedes

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    Study Guide Summary • Only – ir verbs have stem changes in the preterit • Stem changes happen only in third - person forms • o → ue (present) becomes o → u (preterit) • e → ie (present) becomes e → i (preterit) 3. Morphing Irregulars in the Preterit Some Spanish verbs are irregular in the preterite tense because their stem changes completely . Instead of following the normal stem - changing rules you may know from the present tense, these verbs “morph” into a new stem just for the preterite. 3.1 What Are Preterite Morphing Verbs? Preterite morphing verbs: • Have irregular stems • Use a special set of endings • Do NOT use accent marks • Do NOT follow normal stem - changing rules

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    Study Guide Even though the stems change, the endings stay consistent across all morphing verbs. Special Endings for Preterite Morphing Verbs These verbs use the following endings: Once you memorize these endings, you can apply them to all morphing irregular verbs . Important: There are no written accents in any of these forms. 3.2 U - Stem Verbs Some verbs gain a “u” in their stem in the preterite — even though they do not have a “u” in the infinitive. To conjugate them: 1. Replace the original stem with the u - stem 2. Add the special morphing endings Common U - Stem Verbs

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    Study Guide 3. 3 Memorize Tener – It’s the Key! Tener (to have) is extremely common, so learning it well will help you with all u - stem verbs . Preterite of Tener 3.4 I - Stem Verbs Another group of morphing verbs uses a stem with the letter “i.” These verbs also use the same special endings . Common I - Stem Verbs

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    Study Guide 3.5 Special Spelling Rule: Hacer Hacer follows the same pattern as venir , but it has one spelling change . Why the Change? Spanish spelling rules require a “z” before - o to keep the correct sound. Preterite of Hacer

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    Study Guide Only the él/ella/usted form changes to “hizo.” 3.6 J - Stem Verbs J - stem verbs end in - j in the stem and follow the same endings with one important exception . The Big Exception For ellos / ellas / ustedes , the ending - ieron becomes - eron (The i disappears .) Common J - Stem Verbs

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    Study Guide 3.7 Preterite of Traer Summary • Memorize the special endings • Learn tener, venir, and traer as models • Remember: no accents • Watch for spelling changes (like hizo and - eron ) Once you see the patterns, preterite morphing verbs stop being scary — and start making sense! 4. Truly Irregular Verbs in the Preterit Some Spanish verbs in the preterit tense do not follow normal patterns . These verbs must be memorized because their forms do not match regular rules. Don’t worry — there are only a few, and once you learn them, they become much easier to recognize. 4.1 Ir (to go) and Ser (to be) Same Forms, Different Meanings The verbs ir and ser are special because: • They are conjugated exactly the same in the preterit tense.

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