Chapter 3A Irregular preterite verbs- tener, poder, estar, hacer

Irregular preterite verbs

Tener, Poder, Estar, Hacer

All irregular
verbs in the
preterite have
the same set of
“special”
endings

-e

-imos

-iste

-isteis

-o

-ieron

All irregular
verbs in the
preterite have an
irregular stem.

Tener- TUV-

Poder- PUD-

Estar- ESTUV-

Hacer- HIC-
Pronounced “eace” as in “peace”
NOT “hick” or “heek”

There are many irregulars in the preterite, but
we will be learning only 4.

Tener- to have

Poder- to be able to/could

Estar - to be (location/condition/feeling)

Hacer - to do; to make; to ask a question

To form an irregular preterite, us the irregular
stem and then add the ending:

-e -imos

I had:

Yo tuve

-iste -isteis

You had: Tú tuviste

-o -ieron

He had

Él tuvo

Tener - TUV-

We had

Nosotros tuvimos

They had Ellos tuvieron

To form an irregular preterite, us the irregular
stem and then add the ending:

-e -imos

I could: Yo pude

-iste -isteis

You could:

Tú pudiste

-o -ieron

He could Él pudo

Poder - PUD-

We could Nosotros pudimos

They could

Ellos pudieron

To form an irregular preterite, us the irregular
stem and then add the ending:

-e -imos

I could: Yo pude

-iste -isteis

You could:

Tú pudiste

-o -ieron

He could Él pudo

Poder - PUD-

We could Nosotros pudimos

They could

Ellos pudieron

To form an irregular preterite, us the irregular
stem and then add the ending:

-e -imos

I could: Yo pude

-iste -isteis

You could:

Tú pudiste

-o -ieron

He could Él pudo

Poder - PUD-

We could Nosotros pudimos

They could

Ellos pudieron