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Verbs with Spelling Changes in the Preterit

The spelling and pronunciation rules of Spanish are extremely consistent, and a conjugated form of the verb may have to change its spelling in order to maintain the pronunciation of the infinitive. In the yo form of some verbs, adding - í or - é to the base of the verb changes the pronunciation of the word, so the spelling is changed to elicit the same basic sound as the infinitive.

Verbs that end in -car

The vowel that follows the letter c determines whether it is pronounced hard (like a k) or soft (like an s). The c is pronounced soft when followed by an i or an e; it is pronounced hard when followed by an o, a, or u. Thus, a verb ending in - car has the hard c sound in its infinitive form. All the conjugated forms must maintain this sound, but the preterit yo ending causes problems. The c becomes a soft sound when you add - é to the stem, which is unacceptable for a -car verb. For this reason, the letter c changes to qu in the yo form. Pronounce the ending (- qué) like the English name “Kay.” The letter u is never pronounced when it follows a q. The combination of letters qu is always pronounced like a k, not like the sound in the English word “queen.” Table 1 is the preterit conjugation chart for the verb practicar (to practice), whose conjugation is typical of all regular verbs that end in - car, including those in the list that follows Table 4-6. To simplify the rule: If a verb ends in - car, change the c to qu in the yo form of the preterit.

TABLE 1 Preterit Forms of the Verb Practicar (to Practice)

Subject

Verb

Subject

Verb

yo

practiqué

nosotros/nosotras

practicamos

practicaste

vosotros/vosotras

practicasteis

él

practicó

ellos

practicaron

ella

practicó

ellas

practicaron

usted

practicó

ustedes

practicaron

Some common verbs ending in - car:

aparcar

to park

preterit yo form: aparqué

aplicar

to apply

preterit yo form: apliqué

buscar

to seek, to look for

preterit yo form: busqué

clarificar

to clarify

preterit yo form: clarifiqué

clasificar

to classify

preterit yo form: clasifiqué

colocar

to place, to put

preterit yo form: coloqué

comunicar

to communicate

preterit yo form: comuniqué

dedicar

to dedicate

preterit yo form: dediqué

destacar

to stand out

preterit yo form: destaqué

educar

to educate

preterit yo form: eduqué

empacar

to pack

preterit yo form: empaqué

explicar

to explain

preterit yo form: expliqué

fabricar

to make

preterit yo form: fabriqué

indicar

to indicate

preterit yo form: indiqué

justificar

to justify

preterit yo form: justifiqué

marcar

to mark

preterit yo form: marqué

masticar

to chew

preterit yo form: mastiqué

pescar

to fish

preterit yo form: pesqué

publicar

to publish

preterit yo form: publiqué

sacar

to take out

preterit yo form: saqué

significar

to mean

preterit yo form: signifiqué

tocar

to touch, to play a musical instrument

preterit yo form: toqué

Verbs that end in -gar

The Spanish letter g behaves a lot like the letter c. The vowel that follows the letter g determines whether it is pronounced hard (like the g in “girl”) or soft (like the g in “gem”). Infinitives that end in -gar are pronounced with a hard g sound. To prevent this hard g from becoming a soft g with the addition of the preterit yo ending (- é), the letter u is added between the g and e to maintain the sound of the infinitive. This yo ending ( -gué) sounds like the English word “gay.”

Table 2 is the preterit conjugation chart for the verb cargar (to load), which serves as a good example for these types of verbs.

TABLE 2 Preterit Forms of the Verb Cargar (to Load)

Subject

Verb

Subject

Verb

yo

cargué

nosotros/nosotras

cargamos

cargaste

vosotros/vosotras

cargasteis

él

cargó

ellos

cargaron

ella

cargó

ellas

cargaron

usted

cargó

ustedes

cargaron

The following - gar verbs are conjugated like cargar in the preterit tense. They are regular in all forms except that you must change the g to gu before the regular yo ending.

Some common verbs ending in - gar:

agregar

to add

preterit yo form: agregué

apagar

to extinguish, to turn off

preterit yo form: apagué

cargar

to load

preterit yo form: cargué

encargar

to put in charge, to entrust

preterit yo form: encargué

entregar

to hand in, to hand over

preterit yo form: entregué

jugar

to play a sport

preterit yo form: jugué

llegar

to arrive

preterit yo form: llegué

obligar

to compel, to oblige

preterit yo form: obligué

regar

to water (a plant)

preterit yo form: regué

segar

to mow (the lawn)

preterit yo form: segué

tragar

to swallow

preterit yo form: tragué

vagar

to wander

preterit yo form: vagué

Verbs that end in -zar

You may have already learned a simple rule about the letter z in Spanish: “Whenever z is followed by e, it changes to c.” This rule is important in the preterit tense of verbs ending in - zar because the z must change to c before adding the - é ending in the yo form. The preterit conjugation of the verb rezar (to pray) in Table 3 is an example of how to conjugate the - zar verbs in the list that follows.

TABLE 3 Preterit Forms of the Verb Rezar (to Pray)

Subject

Verb

Subject

Verb

yo

recé

nosotros/nosotras

rezamos

rezaste

vosotros/vosotras

rezasteis

él

rezó

ellos

rezaron

ella

rezó

ellas

rezaron

usted

rezó

ustedes

rezaron

Common verbs that end in - zar:

autorizar

to authorize

preterit yo form: autoricé

abrazar

to embrace, to hug

preterit yo form: abracé

alcanzar

to reach

preterit yo form: alcancé

almorzar

to eat lunch

preterit yo form: almorcé

amenazar

to threaten

preterit yo form: amenacé

avanzar

to advance

preterit yo form: avancé

comenzar

to begin

preterit yo form: comencé

empezar

to begin

preterit yo form: empecé

gozar

to enjoy

preterit yo form: gocé

lanzar

to throw

preterit yo form: lancé

organizar

to organize

preterit yo form: organicé

realizar

to fulfill, to realize (one's dream)

preterit yo form: realicé

rezar

to pray

preterit yo form: recé

simbolizar

to symbolize

preterit yo form: simbolicé

trazar

to trace

preterit yo form: tracé

tropezar

to stumble, to trip

preterit yo form: tropecé

i to y

A spelling change is necessary in certain forms in the preterit when the stem of the verb ends in a vowel. If the letter i is surrounded by two other vowels, you must change the i to y. The - er and - ir preterit endings cause the i to change to y in the third person forms ( él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas, and ustedes). An accent will be added to any other i in the conjugation chart. Look carefully at the accent marks in Table 4 . This conjugation chart of the verb creer (to believe) serves as an example for the verbs in the list that follows.

TABLE 4 Preterit Forms of the Verb Creer (to Believe)

Subject

Verb

Subject

Verb

yo

creí

nosotros/nosotras

creímos

creíste

vosotros/vosotras

creísteis

él

creyó

ellos

creyeron

ella

creyó

ellas

creyeron

usted

creyó

ustedes

creyeron

Other verbs that have a base ending in a vowel are also conjugated like creer. Many of these verbs end in - uir.

caer

to fall

construir

to construct, to build

contribuir

to contribute

creer

to believe

destruir

to destroy

distribuir

to distribute

fluir

to flow

huir

to flee, to run away

incluir

to include

influir

to influence

leer

to read

oír

to hear

poseer

to possess

proveer

to provide

Verbs ending in - guir are exceptions to the above rule because of the special issue posed by the g. The verb s eguir (to follow, to continue) appears to have spelling issues, but actually it does not. As you can see in Table 5 , although it looks very strange, it is conjugated like an - ir stem-changing verb.

TABLE 5 Preterit Forms of the Verb Seguir (to Follow, to Continue)

Subject

Verb

Subject

Verb

yo

seguí

nosotros/nosotras

seguimos

seguiste

vosotros/vosotras

seguisteis

él

siguió

ellos

siguieron

ella

siguió

ellas

siguieron

usted

siguió

ustedes

siguieron

The verb traer (to bring) is also an exception, but it is completely irregular.

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