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- The preterite: key irregular verbs
The preterite: key irregular verbs
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Some of the most useful verbs are irregular in the preterite. A handful of them appear in almost every holiday description.
Ir and ser: identical
In the preterite, ir (to go) and ser (to be) have the same forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron.
Context tells you which: Fui a España = I went to Spain. Fue divertido = It was fun.
Context tells you which: Fui a España = I went to Spain. Fue divertido = It was fun.
Other key irregulars
Learn the yo and él forms first.
Using them
Hice turismo. = I went sightseeing.
Fue increíble. = It was incredible.
Vi muchos monumentos. = I saw lots of monuments.
Fue increíble. = It was incredible.
Vi muchos monumentos. = I saw lots of monuments.
Translate: I went to Mexico and it was incredible.
- I went: ir → fui
- to Mexico = a México
- it was: ser → fue
- incredible = increíble
Answer: Fui a México y fue increíble.
Ir and ser share preterite forms: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. Learn hice/hizo, tuve/tuvo, estuve/estuvo, vi/vio.
The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.
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