Spelling Changes in the Preterite

A. Spelling changes occur in the Spanish Preterite to maintain pronunciation and to conform to spelling conventions. Technically these verbs are NOT irregular. B. These changes follow some very specific rules. 1. Spelling changes for –ar verbs. These three rules affect the yo form of the Preterite in certain verbs to preserve the hard consonant sound of their infinitive ending: -car, -gar, -zar ° The letter c changes to qu before e or i   (to search for) buscar: busqué, buscaste, buscó, buscamos, buscaron (to touch, play) tocar: toqué, tocaste, tocó, tocamos, tocaron Other verbs of this type are: calificar(to grade) criticar(to criticize) dedicar(to dedicate) practicar comunicar chocar(to collide) explicar sacar

califiqué expliqué saqué ° The letter c changes to qu before e or i Práctica: Yo los exámenes. (calificar) Yo le la lección a mi amigo. (explicar) Yo un lápiz y papel. (sacar) califiqué expliqué saqué

° The letter g changes to gu before e or i. (to pay) pagar: ° The letter g changes to gu before e or i.   (to pay) pagar: pagué, pagaste, pagó, pagamos, pagaron (to play)jugar: jugué, jugaste, jugó, jugamos, jugaron Other verbs of this type are: entregar(to deliver) llegar obligar(to force) pegar(to beat, hit)   Práctica: Yo le mi informe a la profesora. (entregar) Yo tarde al colegio. (llegar) entregué llegué

° The letter z changes to c before e or i. empezar: ° The letter z changes to c before e or i.   empezar: empecé, empezaste, empezó, empezamos, empezaron almorzar: almorcé, almorzaste, almorzó, almorzamos, almorzaron   Other verbs of this type are: comenzar (start) especializar (to specialize) cruzar (to cross) utilizar (to use) gozar (enjoy)   Práctica: Yo la calle en la esquina. (cruzar) Yo la película Doom en el cine. (gozar) Yo el diccionario a traducir las oraciones. (utilizar) crucé gocé utilicé

2. Spelling changes for –ir/-er verbs 2. Spelling changes for –ir/-er verbs. This rule affects the 3rd person singular & plural forms. An unaccented i between two vocalized vowels changes to y. This rule affects all –ir/-er verbs whose stem ends in a vowel. Additionally, an accent on the i is required for some forms in the Preterite to retain pronunciation.   leer: leí, leíste, leyó, leímos, leyeron oír: oí, oíste, oyó, oímos, oyeron destruir: destruí, destruiste, destruyó, destruimos, destruyeron   Other verbs of this type are:   creer (to believe) caer (to fall) construir (to construct) incluir (include)   Práctica: Mis amigos que yo soy loco. (oír) Elena la revista en la biblioteca. (leer)   oyeron leyó

Spelling requirements for one-syllable verbs Spelling requirements for one-syllable verbs. This rule only affects the verbs ver & dar. One syllable words require no written accent, unless their spelling is identical to a word with a different meaning.   The verb ver (to see) is a one-syllable word in the yo and él/ella/Ud. voices. The accent is not used in these conjugations for that reason.

The verb ver (to see) is a one-syllable word; no written accents! singular ver to see plural yo vi nosotros nosotras vimos tú viste vosotros vosotras visteis él ella Ud. vio ellos ellas Uds. vieron

Spelling requirements for one-syllable verbs Spelling requirements for one-syllable verbs. This rule only affects the verbs ver & dar. ° The verb dar is a “switch verb”. That is to say, in the Preterite tense, dar changes its theme vowel from -ar to -er/-ir.   Consequently it conjugates in the Preterite similar to ver.

dar to give di dimos diste disteis dio dieron The verb dar (to give) is a one-syllable SWITCH verb. -er/ -ir regular endings ; no written accents! singular dar to give plural yo di nosotros nosotras dimos tú diste vosotros vosotras disteis él ella Ud. dio ellos ellas Uds. dieron

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