Key points about irregular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish
- Irregular verbs don’t follow the usual pattern in the Form of the verb that describes completed actions in the past..
- Ser and ir are conjugated in the same way in the preterite tense.
- Some verbs in the preterite tense have irregular spellings when using the third person singular or plural forms only.
Video - Irregular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish
Watch the video to understand how to form the preterite tense of irregular verbs in Spanish.
Some verbs in Spanish are irregular
But there are irregular verbs! The big two you need to know are ‘to go’ - ‘ir’ and ‘to be’ - ‘ser’.
Luckily, they’re both the same in the preterite. They become: ‘fui’, ‘fuiste’, ‘fue’, ‘fuimos’, ‘fuisteis’, ‘fueron’.
‘Fui a la piscina’ I went to the swimming pool.
‘Fue un gran actor’ He was a great actor. But you don’t just want to tell someone what happened, you also want to tell them what it was like. All you need is ‘fue’ (‘it was’), plus an adjective.
How was the Tomatina festival? It was fantastic - ‘Fue fantástico’. And that’s the preterite. So if you want to tell people about the disastrous camping trip you went on last year, or any other adventures, you’ll know just what to do.
Irregular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish
Some of the most common verbs in Spanish are irregular. This means that they don’t follow the usual pattern in the preterite tense. They have to be learned separately.
Some of the most useful irregular verbs in the preterite are:
| ser/ir (to be/to go) | hacer (to make/do) | tener (to have) |
|---|---|---|
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (I was/went) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (I made/did) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (I had) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (you sing. were/went) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (you sing. made/did) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (you sing. had) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (he/she was/went) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (he/she made/did) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (he/she had) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (we were/went) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (we made/did) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (we had) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (you pl. were/went) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (you pl. made/did) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (you pl. had) |
| Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (they were/went) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (they made/did) | Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. (they had) |
Note that ser and ir are the same in the preterite tense.
Other useful irregular verbs include:
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to be
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I was
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you sing. were
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she was
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we were
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you pl. were
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they were
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to say
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I said
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you sing. said
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she said
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we said
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you pl. said
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they said
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to come
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I came
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you sing. came
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she came
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we came
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you pl. came
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they came
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to see
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I saw
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you sing. saw
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she saw
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we saw
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you pl. saw
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they saw
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to put
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I put
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you sing. put
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she put
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we put
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you pl. put
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they put
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - to bring
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - I brought
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you sing. brought
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - he/she brought
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - we brought
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - you pl. brought
Check your connection, refresh the page and try again. - they brought
Verbs with irregular spellings in the third person singular
Some verbs in the preterite have irregular spellings in the he/she/you formal (él/ella/usted) and they/you plural formal (ellos/ellas/ustedes) forms only.
Here are some high frequency examples:
| Infinitive | English | he/she/you (singular formal) | English | they/you (plural formal) | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| leer | to read | leyó | he/she/you (formal) read | leveron | they/you read |
| caer | to fall | cayó | he/she/you (formal) fell | cayeron | they/you fell |
| oír | to hear | oyó | he/she/you (formal) heard | oyeron | they/you heard |
| creer | to believe | creyó | he/she/you (formal) believed | creyeron | they/you believed |
| construir | to build | construyó | he/she/you (formal) built | construyeron | they/you built |
Radical-changing 'ir' verbs in the preterite
Radical-changing ir verbs have irregular spellings in the third person singular (él/ella/usted) and plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes) forms only.
For example:
| Infinitive | English | he/she/you (singular formal) | English | they/you (plural formal) | English |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| preferir | to prefer | prefirió | he/she preferred | prefirieron | they preferred |
| dormir | to sleep | durmió | he/she slept | durmieron | they slept |
| repetir | to repeat | repitió | he/she repeated | repitieron | they repeated |
| pedir | to ask | pidió | he/she asked | pidieron | they asked |
| morir | to die | murió | he/she died | murieron | they died |
| servir | to serve | sirvió | he/she served | sirvieron | they served |
Irregular verbs in the preterite tense - Mini quiz
Translate the following into Spanish:
They asked.
pidieron
Quiz - Irregular verbs in the preterite tense
Practise what you've learned about irregular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish with this quiz.
Video - The preterite tense
Watch the video to learn more about irregular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish.
In Spanish the verb 'ir' (to go) is irregular
The preterite tense: How to talk about the past in Spanish…
One thing to be extra careful with is the verb to go, ir, as it’s irregular.
I went to the supermarket - Fui al supermercado.
Did you go to school? - ¿Fuiste al colegio?
He/she went to the doctor - Fue al médico.
And that’s the preterite tense.
Now you have learned about irregular verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish why not explore irregular verbs in the perfect tense in Spanish?
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