$164.95 - Free Shipping in USA
And Free T-Shirt

Preterite: Part IV

In order to preserve the sound of the infinitive, a number of verbs change orthographically (spelling) in the preterite tense. The following changes occur in the "yo" form only:

Verbs that end in -gar change g to gu
Verbs that end in -car change c to qu
Verbs that end in -zar change z to c

---

Here are three examples:

yo jugué (jugar)
yo busqué (buscar)
yo almorcé (almorzar)

---

Some common orthographic changing verbs for the preterite tense in these categories are:

-gar	-car	-zar
cegar	aparcar	almorzar
colgar	buscar	autorizar
jugar	clarificar	cazar
llegar	clasificar	comenzar
pagar	destacar	cruzar
plegar	empacar	empezar
regar	justificar	forzar
rogar	practicar	organizar
tragar	sacar	simbolizar
vagar	tocar	tropezarse

---

For verbs that end in -aer, -eer, -oír, and -oer, the él/ella/usted forms use the ending "yó" (rather than ió) and the third person plural uses the ending "yeron" (rather than ieron). The remaining forms gain a written accent over the letter "i."

creer

creí
creíste
creyó
creímos
creísteis
creyeron

Other verbs like creer include:

caer
leer
oír
poseer
proveer
roer

Exceptions to this rule include:

traer
atraer
distraer

---

Verbs that end in -uir change in the same way, but the written accent over the letter "i" only occurs in the yo form.

huir

huí
huiste
huyó
huimos
huisteis
huyeron

Other verbs like huir include:

construir
contribuir
destruir
fluir
incluir
influir

---

The preterite has quite a few irregular verbs, so flashcards can really help you to master them:

Verb Flashcards

52. preterite: creer, caer, leer, oír
    
    creí
    creíste
    creyó
    creímos
    creísteis
    creyeron
    
    
53. preterite: huir, construir, contribuir, incluir
    
    huí
    huiste
    huyó
    huimos
    huisteis
    huyeron

Others will envy you. Learn Spanish now!