Spelling changes in the preterite

1. Spelling changes in the preterite

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

3. 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

4. Verbs that end in -car 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 buscaron buscó Busqué el programa en la tele. I looked for the program on the TV.

5. 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.

6. #4 Conjugate the verb TOCAR in the preterite tense on #4 on your paper

7. tocar toqué tocamos tocaste tocaron tocó

8. 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

9. Verbs that end in -gar 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 jugaron jugó Jugué fútbol anoche. I played soccer last night.

10. 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.

11. #8 Conjugate the verbllegarin the preterite tense on #8 on your paper

12. llegar llegué llegamos llegaste llegaron llegó

13. 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

14. 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 almorzaron almorzó Almorcécon Juan la semana pasada I ate lunch with Juan last week.

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

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

17. 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 empezaron empezó