Changers In Spanish Preterit

An - ir verb that undergoes a stem change in the present tense will undergo a stem change in the preterit in the third person forms.

Changers In Spanish Preterit
An - ir verb that undergoes a stem change in the present tense will undergo a stem change in the preterit in the third person forms ( él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas, and ustedes). Any - ir verb that undergoes an o>ue stem change in the present tense undergoes an o>u stem change in the preterit. Table 1 demonstrates the preterit patterns for morir (to die), an - ir verb that undergoes an o>ue stem change in the present tense. The verb dormir (to sleep) is conjugated in exactly the same manner.
TABLE 1 Preterit Forms of Morir (to Die)
Subject
Verb
Subject
Verb
yo
morí
nosotros/nosotras
morimos
tú
moriste
vosotros/vosotras
moristeis
él
murió
ellos
murieron
ella
murió
ellas
murieron
usted
murió
ustedes
murieron
There are several - ir verbs that undergo an e>ie stem change in the present tense. Any - ir verb that undergoes an e>ie stem change in the present tense undergoes an e>i stem change in the preterit in the third person forms ( él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas, and ustedes). Table 2 represents the conjugation chart for all the verbs in the list that follows. Notice that, just as in the present tense, it is the second e in preferir (to prefer) that undergoes a change.
TABLE 2 Preterit Forms of Preferir (to Prefer)
Subject
Verb
Subject
Verb
yo
preferí
nosotros/nosotras
preferimos
tú
preferiste
vosotros/vosotras
preferisteis
él
prefirió
ellos
prefirieron
ella
prefirió
ellas
prefirieron
usted
prefirió
ustedes
prefirieron
Common verbs conjugated like preferir in the preterit tense:
advertir
to advise, to warn
convertir
to convert
hervir
to boil
mentir
to tell a lie
preferir
to prefer
sentir
to feel, to regret
An - ir verb that undergoes an e>i stem change in the present tense will also undergo an e>i stem change in the preterit, but only in the third person forms ( él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas, and ustedes). The verbs that follow Table 3 are all conjugated like servir (to serve).
TABLE 3 Preterit Forms of Servir (to Serve)
Subject
Verb
Subject
Verb
yo
serví
nosotros/nosotras
servimos
tú
serviste
vosotros/vosotras
servisteis
él
sirvió
ellos
sirvieron
ella
sirvió
ellas
sirvieron
usted
sirvió
ustedes
sirvieron
Common verbs conjugated like servir in the preterit tense:
impedir
to impede, to prevent
medir
to measure
pedir
to request
repetir
to repeat
seguir
to follow
vestirse
to dress oneself, to get dressed
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