The preterite of –car, -gar, and –zar verbs Unit 6, lesson 2 Spa I
Some verbs lose their original sound when you conjugate them in the preterite. You must change their spelling to maintain their original sound. This happens with verbs ending in –car, -gar, and –zar when you conjugate them with yo. For example, conjugate buscar with yo in the preterite: Yo buscé Buscar has a k sound and when you conjugate it with yo in the preterite, the sound is lost. You must change its spelling to keep the original sound= busqué
All verbs ending in –car, -gar, and –zar will change their spelling when you conjugate them with yo in the preterite. -car qué Yo busqué -gar gué Yo jugué -zar cé Yo almorcé
-car qué Buscar (to look for/search), sacar (to earn, to take out), practicar (to practice), tocar (to play an instrument), explicar (to explain) Busqué Buscamos Practiqué Practicamos Buscaste Practicaste Buscó Buscaron Practicó Practicaron
-gar gué Jugar (to play), llegar (to arrive), pagar (to pay) Jugué Jugamos Llegué Llegamos Jugaste Llegaste Jugó Jugaron Llegó Llegaron Pagué Pagamos Pagaste Pagó Pagaron
-zar cé Comenzar/empezar (to begin), almorzar (to eat lunch), cazar (to hunt) Empecé Empezamos Cacé Cazamos Empezaste Cazaste Empezó Empezaron Cazó Cazamos Almorcé Almorzamos Almorzaste Almorzó Almorzaron
Ejercicios. Copy and translate the following and turn it in. I paid 11. I played (sports) She looked for 12. You (inf) arrived I arrived 13. I played (instruments) They explained 14. They looked for I began 15. You (inf) took out He ate lunch 16. I looked for I practiced 17. She took out We paid 18. I explained I hunted 19. I took out I ate lunch 20. They played (instruments)