Spelling changes in the preterite

IN the preterite some –AR verbs have spelling changes only in the “yo” form

The first set of verbs end in the letters -CAR Think of a verb that ends in -CAR? Write it down next to #1 on your worksheet

busqué buscamos buscaste buscó buscaron Verbs that end in -car c  qu Verbs that end in -car, first-person singular of the preterite (the “yo” form). All other forms of these verbs are conjugated regularly. c  qu Example: buscar busqué buscamos buscaste buscó buscaron Busqué el programa en la tele. I looked for the program on the TV.

Why does it change from –car to qué? How do you pronounce the word “hace”? How would you pronounce this word “toce”? We want it to be pronounced as “toqué” so that it sounds like it comes from “tocar”. By changing the – car to qué, yo preserve the pronunciation of the verb.

#4 Conjugate the verb TOCAR in the preterite tense on #4 on your paper

tocar toqué tocamos tocaste tocó tocaron

The second set of verbs end in -GAR What verb can you think of that ends in –GAR? Write it down next to #5 on your worksheet

jugué jugamos jugaste jugó jugaron Verbs that end in -gar g  gué Verbs that end in -gar, first-person singular of the preterite (the “yo” form). All other forms of these verbs are conjugated regularly. g  gué Example: jugar NOTICE: there is no stem-change in the preterite for this verb. There are stem-changing preterite verbs but we will learn them later. jugué jugamos jugaste jugó jugaron Jugué fútbol anoche. I played soccer last night.

Why does it change from –gar to gué? How do you pronounce the word “general”? How would you pronounce this word “llegé”? We want it to be pronounced as “llegué” so that it sounds like it comes from “llegar”. By changing the – gar to gué, yo preserve the pronunciation of the verb.

#8 Conjugate the verb llegar in the preterite tense on #8 on your paper

llegar llegué llegamos llegaste llegó llegaron

The third set of verbs end in -ZAR What verb can you think of that ends in –ZAR? Write it down next to #9 on your worksheet

almorcé almorzamos almorzaste almorzó almorzaron Verbs that end in -zar Verbs that end in -zar, first-person singular of the preterite (the “yo” form). All other forms of these verbs are conjugated regularly. z  cé NOTICE: there is no stem-change in the preterite for this verb. There are stem-changing preterite verbs but we will learn them later. almorcé almorzamos almorzaste almorzó almorzaron Almorcé con Juan la semana pasada I ate lunch with Juan last week.

Why does it change from –ZAR to “ce” There is no reason – you just have to memorize it!

Conjugate the verb “empezar” next to #11 on your paper Conjugate the verb “empezar” next to #11 on your paper. There is no stem-change!

empecé empezamos empezaste empezó empezaron empezar NOTICE: there is no stem-change in the preterite for this verb. There are stem-changing preterite verbs but we will learn them later. empecé empezamos empezaste empezó empezaron