Spanish Preterite Verbs Dar, Ver, Ir & Ser
With short verbs like dar and ver, the only irregularity in the preterite is one that you’ll find easy to accomplish: just forget to put the accent marks in! Because the words are so short, the stress falls naturally on the right syllable.
Resources for further reading:
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Dar - to give
Yo di
I gave
Tú diste
You gave
Usted dio
You (polite) gave
Él dio
He gave
Ella dio
She gave
Nosotros dimos
We (masc.) gave
Nosotras dimos
We (fem.) gave
Vosotros disteis
You (pl. masc.) gave
Vosotras disteis
You (pl. fem.) gave
Ustedes dieron
You (plural) gave
Ellos dieron
They (masc.) gave
Ellas dieron
They (fem.) gave
Ver - to see
Yo vi
You saw
Tú viste
You saw
Usted vio
You (polite) saw
Él vio
He saw
Ella vio
She saw
Nosotros vimos
We (masc.) saw
Nosotras vimos
We (fem.) saw
Vosotros visteis
You (pl. masc.) saw
Vosotras visteis
You (pl. fem.) saw
Ustedes vieron
You (plural) saw
Ellos vieron
They (masc.) saw
Ellas vieron
They (fem.) saw
Por ejemplo (for example):
Yo no le di la plata a él.
I didn't give him the money.
Usted le dio la manzana a la chica.
You gave the apple to the girl.
Nosotros le dimos cincuenta pesos al conductor.
We gave the driver fifty pesos.
Identical Twins: IR and SER
One of the strangest things to happen to Spanish verbs is to take on the exact same irregular preterite form, and this happens with the very common verbs ir and ser. Who knows why these two verbs evolved over the course of time to have the same preterite past tense form, but they do make life complicated if you’re unfamiliar with them.
Study the charts below:
IR - to go
Yo fui
I went
Tú fuiste
You (sing/inf) went
Usted fue
You (sing/f) went
Él fue
He went
Ella fue
She went
Nosotros fuimos
We (masc) went
Nosotras fuimos
We (fem) went
Vosotros fuisteis
You (pl/masc/Spain) went
Vosotras fuisteis
You (pl/fem/Spain) went
Ustedes fueron
You (pl/masc/Spain) went
Ellos fueron
They (masc) went
Ellas fueron
They (fem) went
SER - to be
Yo fui
I was
Tú fuiste
You (sing/inf) were
Usted fue
You (sing/f) were
Él fue
He were
Ella fue
She were
Nosotros fuimos
We (masc) were
Nosotras fuimos
We (fem) were
Vosotros fuisteis
You (pl/masc/Spain) were
Vosotras fuisteis
You (pl/fem/Spain) were
Ustedes fueron
You (pl/masc/Spain) were
Ellos fueron
They (masc) were
Ellas fueron
They (fem) were
Going or Being? The Problem with FUI
Now that you’ve memorized the verb forms for ir and ser, you may be wondering how in the world you will ever know whether a sentence with the word fui means “I went_” or “_I was.”
Quite simply, by context! You’ll have to figure out which verb is meant by the rest of the words in the sentence. It’s not as hard as it sounds. See if you can guess the meaning of the verbs in the examples below:
1. Nosotros fuimos a la piscina la semana pasada.
2. Ayer fue un día muy aburrido.
3. Tú fuiste la persona que me robó.
Answers:
1. We went to the pool last week.
ir
2. Yesterday was a very boring day.
ser
3. You were the person who robbed me.
ser
Want to learn more about Spanish Tenses? Take a look at these lessons:
- The common Spanish preterite
- The Spanish imperfect tense refers to a past action. Confused? Learn more here.
- Unfortunately, you are going to find many irregular verbs in the Spanish preterite tense. This tense lesson unravels all the mystery!
See you soon! ¡Hasta pronto!
Mauricio Evlampieff: Rocket Spanish
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