Irregular Preterite Verbs in Spanish: A Conjugated Verb List

The preterite past tense is used to relate past actions that happened at a specific moment in the past.

If you plan to talk about past actions and mention the moment in which those actions occurred, use the preterite past tense.

Irregular Preterite Verbs

To learn Spanish verbs in the irregular preterite tense you can use the following memorization techniques…

1. Organize Irregular Preterite Verbs

The irregularities that irregular preterite verbs have can be divided into two categories. Look!

1. All verbs that have an irregular stem (root) in the preterite have the same ending as the verb estar (to be). Look!

– estuve
– estuviste
– estuvo
– estuvimos
– estuvisteis
– estuvieron

Can you notice that the verbs below have the same endings as the verb estar?

At the same time, they all have different roots. The roots are highlighted in blue.

Here’s a list of irregular preterite verbs that have irregular stems, but share the same endings as estar!

Out of the list of verbs below, which have this irregularity?

Organizing irregular preterite Spanish verbs can help you memorize their correct conjugations!

2. When conjugated, some irregular preterite verbs that end in -ir, change e to i and o to u in the third person singular (él, ella, usted) and the third person plural (ellos, ellas, ustedes) of the preterite. Look!

Some more irregular preterite verbs that change e to i and o to u are…

• preferir (prefer)
• mentir (lie)
• seguir (follow)
• sonreír (smile)
• repetir (repeat)
• teñir (dye)
• elegir (choose)
• morir (die)
• dormir (sleep)
• reñir (quarrel)
• medir (measure)

Out of the 20 Spanish verbs below, which have this irregularity?

The simple fact of paying attention to these details will help you memorize their correct conjugation.

2. Create Examples that Are Meaningful for You

Grab some of the verbs above and create example sentences that are meaningful for you. 

An example I would create would be….

● Ayer almorcé pollo y vegetales. 

The example above is meaningful for me because it is true. Yesterday, I had chicken and veggies for lunch.

Creating examples you can relate to will help you learn by heart the different verb forms of irregular preterite verbs.

3. Use My Set of Flashcards

I created a set of flashcards that includes the conjugations of the 20 irregular preterite Spanish verbs above.

Each flashcard looks like this…

Look at these flashcards. Let some time pass, maybe a few days. Then, re-visit these flashcards again.

Spaced repetition is an effective way to learn vocabulary.

3. Listen to or Watch My Video

Some people memorize stuff by listening. 

Use my video to memorize the different verb forms of Spanish verbs in the preterite past tense.

Irregular Preterite Verbs List

Here are common irregular preterite verbs in Spanish along with their conjugation.

You will notice six verb forms, belonging respectively to the following persons: (1) yo; (2) tu and vos; (3) él, ella, usted; (4) nosotros, nosotras; (5) vosotros, vosotras; (6) ellos, ellas and ustedes. 

1. ser (to be) / ir (to go)

Ser and ir have the same conjugation forms in the preterite past tense.

– fui
– fuiste
– fue
– fuimos
– fuisteis
– fueron

2. estar (to be)

– estuve
– estuviste
– estuvo
– estuvimos
– estuvisteis
– estuvieron

3. tener (to have)

– tuve
– tuviste
– tuvo
– tuvimos
– tuvisteis
– tuvieron

4. poder (to be able to)

– pude
– pudiste
– pudo
– pudimos
– pudisteis
– pudieron

5. querer (to want)

– quise
– quisiste
– quiso
– quisimos
– quisisteis
– quisieron

6. decir (to say)

– dije
– dijiste
– dijo
– dijimos
– dijisteis
– dijeron

7. mentir (to lie)

– mentí
– mentiste
– mintió
– mentimos
– mentisteis
– mintieron

8. preferir (to prefer)

– preferí
– preferiste
– prefirió
– preferimos
– preferisteis
– prefirieron

9. repetir (to repeat)

– repetí
– repetiste
– repitió
– repetimos
– repetisteis
– repitieron

10. vestirse (to get dressed)

– me vestí
– te vestiste
– se vistió
– nos vestimos
– os vestisteis
– se vistieron

11. pedir (to ask for something)

– pedí
– pediste
– pidió
– pedimos
– pedisteis
– pidieron

12. sentir (to feel)

– sentí
– sentiste
– sintió
– sentimos
– sentisteis
– sintieron

13. dormir (to sleep)

– dormí
– dormiste
– durmió
– dormimos
– dormisteis
– durmieron

14. poner (to put)

– puse
– pusiste
– puso
– pusimos
– pusisteis
– pusieron

15. saber (to know)

– supe
– supiste
– supo
– supimos
– supisteis
– supieron

16. hacer (to do)

– hice
– hiciste
– hizo
– hicimos
– hicisteis
– hicieron

17. traer (to bring)

– traje
– trajiste
– trajo
– trajimos
– trajisteis
– trajeron

18. venir (to come)

– vine
– viniste
– vino
– vinimos
– vinisteis
– vinieron

19. conducir (to drive)

– conduje
– condujiste
– condujo
– condujimos
– condujisteis
– condujeron

20. andar (to walk, to go)

– anduve
– anduviste
– anduvo
– anduvimos
– anduvisteis
– anduvieron

21. haber (aux. to have)

– hube
– hubiste
– hubo
– hubimos
– hubisteis
– hubieron

22. obtener (to get)

– obtuve
– obtuviste
– obtuvo
– obtuvimos
– obtuvisteis
– obtuvieron

23. componer (to compose)

– compuse
– compusiste
– compuso
– compusimos
– compusimos
– compusimos

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