In Spanish, the preterite tense is really important.

It helps us talk about actions that have already happened.

When we change regular verbs into the preterite tense, they follow certain patterns. However, some verbs do not follow these patterns. These special verbs are called irregular verbs.

Let’s look at some common irregular verbs in the preterite tense:

1. Ser (to be) / Ir (to go):

   • Yo fui (I was / I went)
   • Tú fuiste (You were / You went)
   • Él/Ella/Usted fue (He/She/You formal were / went)
   • Nosotros fuimos (We were / went)
   • Vosotros fuisteis (You all were / went)
   • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes fueron (They/You all formal were / went)

2. Tener (to have):

   • Yo tuve (I had)
   • Tú tuviste (You had)
   • Él/Ella/Usted tuvo (He/She/You formal had)
   • Nosotros tuvimos (We had)
   • Vosotros tuvisteis (You all had)
   • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes tuvieron (They/You all formal had)

3. Hacer (to do/make):

   • Yo hice (I did/made)
   • Tú hiciste (You did/made)
   • Él/Ella/Usted hizo (He/She/You formal did/made)
   • Nosotros hicimos (We did/made)
   • Vosotros hicisteis (You all did/made)
   • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes hicieron (They/You all formal did/made)

4. Estar (to be):

   • Yo estuve (I was)
   • Tú estuviste (You were)
   • Él/Ella/Usted estuvo (He/She/You formal was)
   • Nosotros estuvimos (We were)
   • Vosotros estuvisteis (You all were)
   • Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes estuvieron (They/You all formal were)

Practicing these changes will help you talk about things that happened in the past.

You can try making sentences about what you did yesterday or over the weekend. Use the preterite tense and these irregular verbs. It’s a fun way to get better at Spanish!