Now we’ll learn some irregular “er/ir” verbs that have stem changes. Remember that the stem is the core part of the verb. The endings are still the same with these irregulars. Do you remember the “er/ir” spine endings? Let’s review them briefly here:
| í | imos |
iste | isteis |
ió | ieron |
Let’s take a look and see how the stems change on these verbs. The first verb is “pedir”:
| (Yo) | pedí | (Nosotros) | pedimos |
(Tú) | pediste | (Vosotros) | pedisteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | pidió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | pidieron |
Notice that only the bottom two are irregular and have stem changes. The “e” changes to “i". Now we’ll go over the rest of the irregular verbs of this type:
Seguir (to continue or to follow)
Seguir (to continue or to follow)
| (Yo) | seguí | (Nosotros) | seguimos |
(Tú) | seguiste | (Vosotros-Spain) | seguisteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | sigió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | siguieron |
Again, notice that the bottom row is irregular. As we go through the next few verbs, continue to take note of how the bottom row of each verb conjugation is irregular. Try to memorize how they’re different. Also, especially notice how they’re pronounced so you can start tuning your ear and memory to how they sound.
Now, we’ll look at the verb conseguir (to attain or to get)
| (Yo) | conseguí | (Nosotros) | conseguimos |
(Tú) | conseguiste | (Vosotros-Spain) | conseguisteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | consigió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | consiguieron |
Next is the verb repetir (to repeat)
| (Yo) | repetí | (Nosotros) | repetimos |
(Tú) | repetiste | (Vosotros-Spain) | repetiseis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | repitió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | repitieron |
Now the verb servir (to serve)
| (Yo) | serví | (Nosotros) | servimos |
(Tú) | serviste | (Vosotros-Spain) | servisteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | sirvió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | sirvieron |
Continuing is the verb preferir (to prefer)
| (Yo) | preferí | (Nosotros) | preferimos |
(Tú) | preferiste | (Vosotros -Spain) | preferisteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | prefirió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | prefirieron |
Next is the verb requerir (to require)
| (Yo) | requerí | (Nosotros) | requerimos |
(Tú) | requeriste | (Vosotros - Spain) | requeristeis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | requirió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | requirieron |
Now the verb sentir (to be sorry or to feel)
| (Yo) | sentí | (Nosotros) | sentimos |
(Tú) | sentiste | (Vosotros-Spain) | sentisteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | sintió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | sintieron |
The next three verbs add a “y” to the irregular bottom line.
The first one is destruir. (to destroy)
The first one is destruir. (to destroy)
| (Yo) | destruí | (Nosotros) | destruimos |
(Tú) | destruiste | (Vosotros-Spain) | destruiste |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | destruyó | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | destruyeron |
The next one to add a “y” is incluir (to include)
| (Yo) | incuí | (Nosotros) | incluimos |
(Tú) | incluiste | (Vosotros-Spain) | incluisteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | incluyó | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | incluyeron |
The final one that adds a “y” is oír (to hear)
| (Yo) | oí | (Nosotros) | oímos |
(Tú) | oíste | (Vosotros-Spain) | oísteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | oyó | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | oyeron |
This final set changes from “o” to “u” on the bottom row.
First is the verb “morir” (to die)
| (Yo) | morí | (Nosotros) | morimos |
(Tú) | moriste | (Vosotros - Spain) | moristeis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | murió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | murieron |
And finally, the verb dormir (to sleep)
| (Yo) | dormí | (Nosotros) | dormimos |
(Tú) | dormiste | (Vosotros-Spain) | dormisteis |
(El, Ella, Ud.) | durmió | (Ellos, Ellas, Uds) | durmieron |
Now that you’ve had a chance to see all of these irregular verbs and how they work, we’ll learn a few new words, then go to our practice session. However, as I mentioned before, I do recommend reviewing this lesson more than once to help tune your ear to how these verbs sound.
Are you ready for the new words:
A book un libro
young joven
el bistec the steak
A book un libro
young joven
el bistec the steak
Practice Session
Here we’ll practice the irregular verbs you learned in the previous lesson. Remember, these verbs are stem changers. Here we go.
| I asked for three. | Pedí tres. |
(Juana) You followed him. | Lo seguiste. |
He got a book. | Consigió un libro. |
She repeated it. | Lo repitió. |
(Sra. Mendoza) You served them (ellos). | Los sirvió. |
We didn’t destroy it. | No lo destruimos. |
They didn’t include him. | No lo incluyeron. |
All of you heard her. | La oyeron. |
I felt sad. | Sentí triste. |
(Pepe) You preferred it. Didn’t you? | Lo preferiste ¿No? |
He required a lot. | Requirió mucho. |
She died very young. | Murió muy joven. |
(Sr. Mendes) You slept. Didn’t you? | Durmió ¿No? |
(Marta) You got it (la hamburguesa). | La conseguiste. |
He asked for it (el lápiz). | Lo pidió. |
She followed me. | Me sigió. |
We repeated it. | Lo repetimos. |
I served them (ellas). | Las serví. |
All of you destroyed it. Didn’t you? | Lo destruyeron. ¿No? |
I included her in the game. | La incluí en el juego. |
(Rodrigo) You didn’t hear it. Did you? | No lo oíste. ¿No? |
He felt happy. | Sintió feliz. |
She preferred the steak. | Prefirió el bistec. |
We required it. | Lo requerimos. |
I didn’t die. | No morí. |
(Juana) Did you sleep well? | ¿Dormiste bien? |
