Preterite Stem

Usually, you drop the -ar, -er, or -ir. Then you add an ending. Simple, right? Well, for these special verbs, the stem itself changes. The stem is the part left over after you drop the ending. For example, tener (to have) doesn't use ten-. It uses tuv-. This new stem is like a secret code. Every time you use tener in the past, you use tuv-. Here is the best part: all these "rebel" verbs share the same set of endings. You don't have to learn new ones for each verb. It is like a buy-one-get-one-free deal at the grammar store. These endings are slightly different from regular ones. And guess what? They have no accent marks. Not a single one! Yes, even native speakers mess this up sometimes. So, if you skip the accents here, you are already ahead of the game. It is like a grammar traffic light—green means go, and no accents mean speed ahead!

1. 1Ready to build some verbs? Follow these three simple steps. Think of it like a recipe for a perfect past tense cake.
2. 2Pick your stem group. Verbs usually fall into the U-group, I-group, or J-group.
3. 3Swap the regular stem for the irregular one. For hacer, the stem becomes hic-.
4. 4Add the special "rebel" endings.
5. 5The endings are:
6. 6-e (yo)
7. 7-iste (tú)
8. 8-o (él/ella/usted)
9. 9-imos (nosotros)
10. 10-isteis (vosotros)
11. 11-ieron (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
12. 12Wait, there is a tiny twist for the J-group! If your stem ends in j, like dij- (from decir), the last ending is just -eron. We drop the i. It is easier to say. Say dijeron out loud. Now try dijieron. The first one feels much smoother, doesn't it? Spanish loves efficiency.

You use these stems whenever you talk about completed actions in the past. This is the "one and done" tense.

• Use it when you tell someone what you did. Tuve una reunión (I had a meeting).
• Use it for a sequence of events. Vino, vio y venció (He came, he saw, he conquered).
• Use it when you specify a time. Ayer supe la verdad (Yesterday I found out the truth).
• Use it in job interviews to describe your tasks. Hice el informe (I made the report).
• Use it when ordering food if the waiter asks how it was. Estuvo rico (It was tasty).

Don't use these if the action wasn't finished. If you are describing a scene or a habit, stop!

• If you are saying "I used to have," don't use tuve. Use the imperfect tense instead.
• If you are describing the weather or the time, these stems usually stay in the closet.
• Don't use them for ongoing feelings. If you were sad all week, that's a different tense.
• If you say "I was doing something" when something else happened, the "was doing" part isn't for these stems.
• Save these for the snapshots of life, not the long videos.

The biggest mistake? Accents! You will want to put an accent on the o or the e. Resist the urge. Tuve is correct. Tuvé is a crime against grammar.

Another one is the hacer spelling change. For the "he/she/it" form, hic- becomes hiz-. So it is hizo. Why? Because hico would sound like "heeko." Spanish wants to keep that soft "s" sound.

Forgetting the J-group -eron is also common. People often say trajeron correctly, but then slip up on dijeron.

Finally, don't mix up the stems. Saber becomes sup-, not sab-. Using the wrong stem is like wearing your shoes on the wrong feet. You can still walk, but it looks a bit funny!

How do these compare to regular verbs? Regular verbs like comer become comí and comió. They love their accent marks. Irregular stems hate them.

What about the imperfect? The imperfect describes the background. It is like the scenery in a play. These preterite stems are the actors. They do the big actions.

For example: Tenía hambre, así que tuve que comer. (I was hungry [background], so I had to eat [action]).

See the difference? One is a state, the other is a specific event.

Also, some verbs change meaning here. Saber usually means "to know." But in the preterite with sup-, it means "to find out." Querer means "to want," but with quis- it often means "to try" or "to refuse."