Preterite: Irregular 'AR' Verbs (3/3)
Spanish: Cambridge International GCSE, topic 8.2.5
Verbs Ending in 'zar' in the Preterite Tense
AR verbs that en in 'zar' have an irregular 'yo' form in the preterite tense. The 'zar' in the infinitive changes to 'cé' in the 'yo' form, e.g. comenzar → comencé (to start → I started).
Empezar - to begin
- Empecé - I began.
- Empezaste - you began.
- Empezó - he/she began / you began (formal)
- Empezamos - we began.
- Empezasteis - you began (plural).
- Empezaron - they began / you began (formal plural)
Comenzar - to start
- Comencé - I started.
- Comenzaste - you started.
- Comenzó - he/she started / you started (formal)
- Comenzamos - we started.
- Comenzasteis - you started (plural).
- Comenzaron - they started / you started (formal plural)
Utilizar - to use
- Utilicé - I used.
- Utilizaste - you used.
- Utilizó - he/she used / you used (formal)
- Utilizamos - we used.
- Utilizasteis - you used (plural).
- Utilizaron - they used / you used (formal plural)
Similar verbs
- Other verbs that follow this pattern include:
- Almorzar - to have lunch.
- Amenazar - to threaten.
- Cruzar - to cross.
- Organizar - to organise.
- Alcanzar - to reach.
Test yourself on Preterite: Irregular 'AR' Verbs (3/3)
How do you say 'I had lunch' in Spanish?