1. el pretérito and the -car, -gar, -zar verbs

2. el pretérito There are two past tense forms in the Spanish language, the imperfect and the preterite (el pretérito). The imperfect is used to describe continuous past action. El pretérito is used to talk about actions that began and ended in the past, usually only one time. It is used to describe single actions.

3. Formation of the preterite of regular –ar verbs For any regular –ar verb, start with the infinitive form:hablar Drop the –ar:habl Add new endings:

4. singularplural yo hablénosotros hablamos túhablastevosotros hablasteis élellos ellahablóellas hablaron Ud.Uds. NOTE:Always use a written accent mark on the first and third person singular forms. Be careful with pronunciation.

5. el pretérito de los verbos irregulares Three classifications of –ar verbs form the first person singular form in an unusual manner. These are the verbs whose infinitives end in the letters –car, -gar, or –zar.

6. -car verbs Start with the infinitivebuscar Drop the –arbusc Conjugate busquébuscamos buscastebuscasteis buscóbuscaron There is a spelling change for first person singular— CHANGE THE C TO QU BEFORE ADDING THE ENDING.

7. -gar verbs Start with the infinitivellegar Drop the –arlleg Conjugate lleguéllegamos llegastellegasteis llególlegaron There is a spelling change for first person singular— CHANGE THE G TO GU BEFORE ADDING THE ENDING.

8. -zar verbs Start with the infinitive almorzar Drop the –ar almorz Conjugate almorcéalmorzamos almorzastealmorzasteis almorzóalmorzaron There is a spelling change for first person singular— CHANGE THE Z TO C BEFORE ADDING THE ENDING.