Preterite stem changes in Spanish -ir verbs

The idea

Only the third-person singular and plural change: e becomes i, as in pidió and pidieron, or o becomes u, as in durmió and durmieron. Other persons keep the infinitive stem: pedí, dormimos.

Examples

• La niña pidió agua después del partido.The girl asked for water after the game.
• Mis vecinos durmieron en una tienda.My neighbors slept in a tent.
• El camarero sirvió la sopa caliente.The waiter served the soup hot.
• Las plantas murieron durante el verano.The plants died during the summer.
• Yo pedí una mesa junto a la ventana.I asked for a table by the window.
• Nosotros dormimos poco en el tren.We slept little on the train.
• La música nos divirtió mucho.The music entertained us a lot.

Watch out

Do not carry the present-tense change into every past form: pedí is correct, not pidí.

Try it yourself

1. Complete with the preterite form of the verb in parentheses. Ayer Ana ___ ayuda. (pedir)

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   pidió

   Pidió agrees with Ana, a singular third person.

2. Complete with the preterite form of the verb in parentheses. Anoche ellos ___ ocho horas. (dormir)

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   durmieron

   Durmieron refers to several people and has the changed vowel u.

3. Complete with the preterite form of the verb in parentheses. Ayer yo ___ el almuerzo. (servir)

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   serví

   Serví refers to the speaker and keeps e in the stem.

4. Complete with the preterite form of the verb in parentheses. El sábado las niñas se ___ en el parque. (divertir)

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   divirtieron

   Divirtieron refers to the girls; the reflexive pronoun is already in the sentence.

Use it today

Complete each new sentence with the appropriate preterite form.