Irregular IR Verbs - Preterite
Spanish: AQA A Level, topic 16.6.9
Radical Changing Stems (E → I)
For some Spanish verbs, their stem changes in the 'él/ella' form and the 'ellos/ellas' form of the preterite tense. Derivatives of these verbs follow the same pattern.
Radical changing stem
- Some IR verbs in the preterite tense change their stem.
- In the 'él/ella' and the 'ellos/ellas' forms, the 'e' changes to an 'i'.
Elegir - to choose
- Elegí - I chose.
- Elegiste - you chose.
- Eligió - he/she chose.
- Elegimos - we chose.
- Elegisteis - you chose.
- Eligieron - they chose.
Mentir - to lie
- Mentí - I lied.
- Mentiste - you lied.
- Mintió - he/she lied.
- Mentimos - we lied.
- Mentisteis - you lied.
- Mintieron - they lied.
Pedir - to ask
- Pedí - I asked.
- Pediste - you asked.
- Pidió - he/she asked.
- Pedimos - we asked.
- Pedisteis - you asked.
- Pidieron - they asked.
Sentir - to feel
- Sentí - I felt.
- Sentiste - you felt.
- Sintió - he/she felt.
- Sentimos - we felt.
- Sentisteis - you felt.
- Sintieron - they felt.
Verbs that follow this pattern
- Medir - to measure.
- Sugerir - to suggest.
- Seguir - to follow, continue.
- Preferir - to prefer.
- Advertir - to warn.
- Corregir - to correct.
Radical Changing Stems (O → U)
In the preterite tense, some verbs change their stems in the 'él/ella' and 'ellos/ellas' forms, with the 'o' changing to a 'u'. The two verbs that follow this pattern are 'morir' and 'dormir'.
Morir - to die
- Morí - I died.
- Moriste - you died.
- Murió - he/she died.
- Morimos - we died.
- Moristeis - you died.
- Murieron - they died.
Dormir - to sleep
- Dormí - I slept.
- Dormiste - you slept.
- Durmió - he/she slept.
- Dormimos - we slept.
- Dormisteis - you slept.
- Durmieron - they slept.
Radical Changing Stems (I → Y)
Most IR verbs that end in 'uir' change their stem in the 'él/ella' and 'ellos/ellas' forms of the preterite tense. These verbs drop the 'i' from the stem and instead have a 'y'.
Contribuir - to contribute
- Contribuí - I contributed.
- Contribuiste - you contributed.
- Contribuyó - he/she contributed.
- Contribuimos - we contributed.
- Contribuisteis - you contributed.
- Contribuyeron - they contributed.
Oír - to hear
- Oí - I heard.
- Oíste - you heard.
- Oyó - he/she heard.
- Oímos - we heard.
- Oísteis - you heard.
- Oyeron - they heard.
Test yourself on Irregular IR Verbs - Preterite
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