Review

Alright everyone, I'm back. I've got some more stuff to post, and this one's a doozy. But First, I'm going to reincorporate everything that I've done so far on the preterite and imperfect. It's really important that all of you get this, it is the key for speaking about this past. So, without further adieu,

Preterite Verbs, Regular

The preterite tense talks about the past, what you did or what happened. It has a definite end though, and has been completed. They are modified by tense endings, with -ar verbs having their method, and -er/-ir verves having theirs.

I am not including a vosotros form here, due to the fact that my teacher doesn't use it.

For -ar Verbs

Hablar

Yo --- Hablé

Tú --- Hablaste

Usted/él/ella --- Habló

Nosotros --- Hablamos

*Note that Nosotros is the only form that doesn't change from a non-preterite verb!*

Ustedes/ellos/ellas --- Hablaron

For -er/-ir

Comer/Vivir

Yo --- Comí/Viví

Tú --- Comiste/Viviste

Usted/él/ella --- Comió/Vivió

Nosotros --- Comimos/Vivimos

*Note that Nosotros is the only form that doesn't change from a non-preterite verb!*

Ustedes/ellos/ellas --- Comieron/Vivieron

For the nosotros forms of the above words, you must use context to determine whether they are present or preterite tense.

Irregular Preterites - Part 1

Hello all, as you can see, I've been gone for a while... no comment.

In the preterite, verbs that end in -car, -gar, an -zar are spelled differently in the "yo" form. The spelling changes are done to keep the pronunciation the same.
For instance: Sacar
Tú Yo
Sacaste *note that it keeps the c Saqué *note how it changes, keeping the pronunciation
¿Sacaste fotos del aeropuerto? Sí, saqué fotos del aero puerto
Did you take photos of the airport? Yes, I took photos of the airport.

The change takes place, going from c to qu

Jugar - to play
Jugaste Jugué
*again, it changes in the yo, keeping the pronunciation the same, from g to gu
¿Con quién jugaste al fútbol? Jugué con mi primo.
With whom did you play soccer? I played with my cousin.

Almorzar - to eat lunch
almorzaste Almorcé
¿Dónde almorzaste ayer? Almorcé con mi familia en Griffith Park.
Where did you eat lunch yesterday? I ate lunch with my family in Griffith Park.
*and, again, it changes to keep the pronunciation, from z to c

Vocabulary Break
Verbs with -car, -gar, -zar spelling changes

c to qu explicar - to explain
expliqué

z to c comenzar - to start
comencé

Ya sabes
c to qu
buscar - to look for
practicar - to practice
tocar - to touch, to play (a musical instrument)
g to gu
llegar - to arrive
pagar - to pay
z to c
empezar (e to ie) - to begin

regular Preterites - Part 2

The verbs ir, ser, and hacer, which are all frequently used, are irregular in the preterite.
*Note that ir and ser have the same forms of irregular verbs, you have to use your context to determine which verb it is

ir ser hacer
yo fui fui hice
tú fuiste fuiste hiciste
usted fue fue hizo
*Note that hacer has a unique usted preterite, with the z. This is something you have to memorize
nosotros fuimos fuimos hicimos
ustedes fueron fueron hicieron

The verbs dar and ver take a regular -er/-ir past tense endings, but have no written accent marks

dar/ver
yo di/vi
tú diste/viste
usted dio/vio
nosotros dimos/vimos
ustedes dieron/vieron

*Note that all of these preterites have no accents, don't make it overly complicated

Irregular Preterites - Part 3

Like the verb hacer, the following verbs have irregular stems in the preterite.
andar...anduv-
estar...estuv-
poder...pud-
poner...pus-
querer...quis-
saber...sup-
tener...tuv-
venir...vin-

The above preterites also have the following irregular preterite ending:
yo...-e
tú...-iste
usted...-o
nosotros...-imos
ustedes...ieron

*Note that there are no accents anywhere, don't make it over complicated.

Verbs that have irregular stems in the preterite that end in j hjave the same endings as the verbs above but drop the i from the ustedes ending.

decir...dijeron
traer...trajeron.

*Note that this doesn't affect the other endings. It's dije, not die.

Stem-Changing Verbs in the Preterite

Stem-changing -ir verbs change vowels in the preterite too. However, the change only occurs in the usted and ustedes forms.

e to i
pedir
pedí..........pedimos
pediste
pidió.........pidieron.

o to u
dormir
dormí..........dormimos
dormiste
durmió........durmieron

Verbs such as leer (to read), creer (to believe), and oír (to hear) change the i to y in the usted and ustedes forms of the preterite.

Alma leyó el poema. Alma read the poem.
Mis hermanos no creyeron las noticias. My brothers didn't believe the news.
¿Leiste la crítica? Did you read the review?

Talking about the Past Using the Imperfect

The preterite tense speaks about a completed action in the past. Now you'll find out about another past tense, called the imperfect.
You can use the imperfect in the following ways:

• to speak about background events in a story
• to talk about something you used to do as a matter of habit
• to speak about how old someone was
• to say what time is was

The following chart shows you how to form the imperfect of regular verbs:
-ar -er -ir
cantar tener salir
Yo: cantaba tenía salía
Tú: cantabas tenías salías
Usted: cantaba tenía salía
Nosotros: cantábamos teníamos salíamos
Ustedes: cantaban tenían salían

The following example uses imperfect because it describes continuing actions in the past.

Don Miguel tragajaba en el banco todos los días.
Don Miguel worked in the bank every day.

The only verbs that don't follow the pattern are:

ser ir ver
Yo: era iba veía
Tú: eras ibas veías
Usted: era iba veía
Nosotros: éramos íbamos veíamos
Usteded: eran iban veían


Vocabulary note:
You can use dentro de (inside) and fuera de (outside) just as you do in English.
Yo estoy dentro de mi cuarto. I am inside my room.



Whew! Now, on to the new stuff.