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“u”-stem verbs: ALL the persons have the vowel “u” in the stem of the preterite.
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“i”-stem verbs: ALL the persons have the vowel “i” in the stem of the preterite.
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“j”-stem verbs: ALL the persons have the consonant “j” in the stem of the preterite.
Pay careful attention to their conjugations. Notice the stem in the infinitive (in blue), the spelling change in the stem of the preterite (in red), and the endings (in black). Notice that all these verbs share the same endings: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron; with the only exception in the third person plural of the “j”-stem verbs, which omit the i of -ieron.
Also, notice that no accents whatsoever are required!
I. “u”-stem verbs
| estar | estuve | estuvimos |
| (to be) | estuviste | estuvieron |
| estuvo | estuvieron | |
| andar | anduve | anduvimos |
| (to walk) | anduviste | anduvieron |
| anduvo | anduvieron | |
| saber | supe | supimos |
| (to know) | supiste | supieron |
| supo | supieron | |
| poner | puse | pusimos |
| (to put, to place) | pusiste | pusieron |
| puso | pusieron | |
| poder | pude | pudimos |
| (to be able to) | pudiste | pudieron |
| pudo | pudieron | |
| tener | tuve | tuvimos |
| (to have) | tuviste | tuvieron |
| tuvo | tuvieron | |
II. “i”-stem verbs
| hacer | hice | hicimos |
| (to do, to make) | hiciste | hicieron |
| hizo | hicieron | |
| querer | quise | quisimos |
| (to want, to love) | quisiste | quisieron |
| quiso | quisieron | |
| venir | vine | vinimos |
| (to come) | viniste | vinieron |
| vino | vinieron | |
III. “j”-stem verbs
| conducir | conduje | condujimos |
| (to drive) | condujiste | condujeron |
| condujo | condujeron | |
| producir | produje | produjimos |
| (to produce) | produjiste | produjeron |
| produjo | produjeron | |
| traducir | traduje | tradujimos |
| (to translate) | tradujiste | tradujeron |
| tradujo | tradujeron | |
| traer | traje | trajimos |
| (to bring) | trajiste | trajeron |
| trajo | trajeron | |
| decir | dije | dijimos |
| (to say, to tell) | dijiste | dijeron |
| dijo | dijeron | |
Note 1: Notice the spelling change in the third person singular of hacer; it is not “hico” but “hizo, ” to maintain the same sound than the other forms. Remember that before vowels a, o, u, we use “z;” and before vowels i, e, we use “c.” For example: zapato, cereza, ciruela, zorro.
Note 2:The verb decir has been grouped under the “j”-stem verbs, but notice that this verb also undergoes another spelling change, namely, the “e” in the stem of the infinitive changes to “i” in te stem of the preterite.
Examples:
Estuve en coma una semana.
I was in a coma one week.
No supieron qué decir.
They didn’t know what to say.
¿Pusiste la ropa sucia en la lavadora?
Did you put the dirty clothes in the washer?
No pudimos encontrar el hotel.
We couldn’t find the hotel.
¿Tuvieron la oportunidad de viajar a Japón?
Did you guys have the opportunity to travel to Japan?
Hizo todo lo que pudo.
He did everything he could.
Todos quisimos mucho a nuestros padres.
We all loved our parents very much.
¿Por qué no vinieron con nosotros a la playa?
Why didn’t you come with us to the beach?
Sus negocios produjeron muchos beneficios.
His businesses produced a lot of benefits.
¿Quién tradujo este poema?
Who translated this poem?
Ustedes dos no trajeron nada para comer.
You two brought nothing to eat.
Perdón, ¿qué dijiste?
Excuse me, what did you say?