El pretérito

The preterite stem-changers

-ir verbs

• Endings for –ir verbs

• -í• -iste• -ió

• -imos• -isteis• -ieron

• These endings are added to most –ir verbs

escribir – to write

• escribí• escribiste• escribió

• escribimos • escribisteis• escribieron

Yo escribí en español.

I wrote in Spanish

• The endings are the same as –er verbsí imosiste isteisió ieron

Present tense –ir stem-changers (boot verbs) also have a stem-change in the preterite tense.

The change is a little different.

In the preterite they are called

the “Sandal Verbs”

dormir(ue,u) – to sleep

• dormí• dormiste• durmió

• dormimos • dormisteis• durmieron

Ella no durmió bien anoche.

She did not sleep well last night.

The “o” changes to “u” in the 3rd persons only.

When you look up stem-changing verbs in the

dictionary, for example:

dormir (ue,u)

present tense “boot” stem-change / preterite tense “sandal” stem-change

dormir (ue,u)The “ue” refers to the stem-change in the

present tense.

• duermo• duermes• duerme

• dormimos• dormís• duermen

Remember the forms that have the stem-change in the present tense form the boot shape. These are the “boot verbs”.

¿Duermes mucho?Do you sleep a lot?

dormir (ue,u)

The “u” refers to the stem-change in the preterite tense.

• dormí• dormiste• durmió

• dormimos • dormisteis• durmieron

The forms that have the stem-change in the preterite tenseform more of a “sandal” shape. These are the “sandal verbs”.

REMEMBER!!Present Tense – Boot Verbs / Preterite Tense – Sandal Verbs

dormir (ue, u)

pedir (i, i)

preferir (ie, i)

mentir (ie, i)

repetir (i, i)

sentir (ie, i)We have already learned the Boot Verbs when we learned the

present tense.This lección, we are learning the Preterite Sandal Verbs.

pedir(i,i) – to request, ask for

• pedí• pediste• pidió

• pedimos • pedisteis• pidieron

Ud. pidió la ensalada.

You ordered the salad.

The “e” changes to “i” in the 3rd persons only.

preferir (ie, i) – to prefer

• preferí• preferiste• prefirió

• preferimos • preferisteis• prefirieron

Uds. prefirieron español.

You prefered Spanish.

The “e” changes to “i” in the 3rd persons only.