Spanish Preterite Short Verbs

Spanish Preterite Short Verbs: DAR, VER, IR and SER

Jump Menu: Select Grammar Notes... Spanish Pronunciation People, Places, and Things How To Say "The" And "An" Spanish Subject Pronouns Spanish Verb Ser How to Say Numbers in Spanish How To Tell the Time In Spanish Spanish Verbs in the Present Tense The Spanish Verb IR (to go) Spanish Question Words Spanish Verb ESTAR Spanish Adjectives Part 1 Using ESTAR to Express a Feeling or Condition Talking about the Weather in Spanish Spanish Adjectives Part 2 Spanish Direct Object Pronouns Spanish Indirect Object Pronouns Putting Direct & Indirect Object Pronouns Together Spanish Prepositional Pronouns Spanish Demonstrative Adjectives Spanish Irregular Verbs Spanish Stem Changing Verbs Spanish Irregular Verbs "Yo" Using the Verbs DECIR and DAR Spanish Present Progressive Spanish Verbs SABER and CONOCER Talking about What You Like, Love, and Lack Spanish Reflexive Verbs Talking about What’s Good, Better, and Best Spanish Conjunctions Talking about Something and Nothing Talking about What Happened in the Past Irregular Verbs in the Preterite Regular Irregularities Short Verbs: DAR, VER, IR and SER Verbs that Say One Thing and Mean Something Else Introduction to the Imperfect Past Using Multiple Tenses in a Sentence What I Was Doing When... Verbs that Say One Thing and Mean It How Long Ago Did It Happen? Describing Actions Prepositions Part I: A, DE, EN, HACIA, and CON Prepositions Part II: DESDE, ENTRE, SIN, HASTA More Uses of the Infinitive Prepositions Part III: POR and PARA Asking for Something: PEDIR v. PREGUNTAR Asking the Question, "What?" Using That, Whom, and Which in Statements Either or, Neither Nor Being Contrary: But, Not Only The Future Irregular Verbs in the Future Unusual Ways of Using the Future Tense

 

Now, for some simpler rules. With short verbs like dar and ver, the only irregularity in the preterite is one that you’ll find easy to accomplish: just forget to put the accent marks in! Because the words are so short, the stress falls naturally on the right syllable.

 

Por ejemplo:

 

Identical Twins: IR and SER

One of the strangest things to happen to Spanish verbs is to take on the exact same irregular preterite form, and this happens with the very common verbs ir and ser. Who knows why these two verbs evolved over the course of time to have the same preterite past tense form, but they do make life complicated if you’re unfamiliar with them.

Study the chart below:

 

Going or Being? The Problem with FUI

Now that you’ve memorized the verb forms for ir and ser, you may be wondering how in the world you will ever know whether a sentence with the word fui means “I went” or “I was.”

Quite simply, by context! You’ll have to figure out which verb is meant by the rest of the words in the sentence. It’s not as hard as it sounds. See if you can guess the meaning of the verbs in the examples below:

1. Nosotros fuimos a la piscina la semana pasada.

2. Ayer fue un día muy aburrido.

3. Tú fuiste la persona que me robó.

Answers:

 

In the next section the confustion begins when you'll learn that the complications never end with the Spanish preterite tense, you'll discover Verbs that Say One Thing and Mean Something Else

Rocket Languages! Home Rocket Spanish   Rocket Spanish Premium Services! For people who seriously want to learn Spanish Learn Spanish Spanish Community Spanish Reviews Members Login     Order Rocket Spanish: Order Download Version Order Shipped Version   Free Spanish Lessons: Spanish Phrases Spanish Grammar Spanish Verbs Latin Culture Spanish Pronunciation   Affiliation: Certification: Guarantee: Secure Payment with:

Help & Contact Us | About Us | Site Map | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use | Affiliate Program | Search