Some verbs are extremely common in Spanish and have unique forms in the preterite tense. These verbs do not follow the regular patterns used by most verbs. In this module, you will learn how to use the preterite forms of the verbs ir, ser, dar, ver, and hacer to describe completed actions and situations in the past.
The verb ir means to go. In the preterite tense, it uses completely irregular forms.
Forms include:
fui – I went
fuiste – you went
fue – he/she went
fuimos – we went
fueron – they went
Sample Sentences
Yo fui al mercado ayer. – I went to the market yesterday.
Ella fue al restaurante con su familia. – She went to the restaurant with her family.
Nosotros fuimos al museo el sábado. – We went to the museum on Saturday.
Él fue al aeropuerto temprano. – He went to the airport early.
Ellos fueron al concierto anoche. – They went to the concert last night.
The verb ser means to be. In the preterite tense, it uses the same forms as ir. The meaning depends on the context of the sentence.
Sample Sentences
La reunión fue interesante. – The meeting was interesting.
El viaje fue muy largo. – The trip was very long.
La conferencia fue excelente. – The conference was excellent.
La experiencia fue increíble. – The experience was incredible.
El evento fue un éxito. – The event was a success.
The verb dar means to give. It is irregular in the preterite but uses a simple set of forms.
Forms include:
di – I gave
diste – you gave
dio – he/she gave
dimos – we gave
dieron – they gave
Sample Sentences
Yo di un regalo a mi amigo. – I gave a gift to my friend.
Ella dio una presentación en la reunión. – She gave a presentation at the meeting.
Nosotros dimos instrucciones al grupo. – We gave instructions to the group.
Él dio la respuesta correcta. – He gave the correct answer.
Ellos dieron ayuda a los turistas. – They gave help to the tourists.
The verb ver means to see. In the preterite tense, it has slightly irregular forms.
Forms include:
vi – I saw
viste – you saw
vio – he/she saw
vimos – we saw
vieron – they saw
Sample Sentences
Yo vi la película anoche. – I saw the movie last night.
Ella vio un documental interesante. – She saw an interesting documentary.
Nosotros vimos el partido en el estadio. – We watched the game at the stadium.
Él vio el mensaje esta mañana. – He saw the message this morning.
Ellos vieron el espectáculo en el teatro. – They saw the show at the theater.
The verb hacer means to do or to make. In the preterite tense, the stem changes.
Important forms include:
hice – I did
hiciste – you did
hizo – he/she did
hicimos – we did
hicieron – they did
Sample Sentences
Yo hice la tarea ayer. – I did the homework yesterday.
Ella hizo una reserva en el hotel. – She made a reservation at the hotel.
Nosotros hicimos un recorrido por la ciudad. – We took a tour of the city.
Él hizo una pregunta importante. – He asked an important question.
Ellos hicieron un viaje a Guatemala. – They took a trip to Guatemala.
In this module, you learned several important verbs that have unique forms in the preterite tense. You practiced using the verbs ir, ser, dar, ver, and hacer to describe completed actions and situations in the past. Because these verbs are frequently used in everyday Spanish conversations, becoming familiar with their preterite forms will help you communicate more clearly when talking about past experiences and events.