1 The Preterite of Regular ER/IR Class Verbs

2 1. The rules for the preterite of regular AR class verbs apply to the ER/IR Class verbs.

3 2. To form the preterite of this class of verbs, you add the correct ER/IR preterite ending to the stem of the infinitive. stem + regular preterite ER/IR ending

4 3. The preterite endings for ER/IR class verbs are: yo- ínosotros(as)- imos tú- isteustedes- ieron Ud., él, ella- ióellos(as)- ieron

5 Example:Escribir (to write) Yo escribí Tú escribiste Ella escribió Nosotros escribimos Ellos escribieron

6 4. For ER class verbs, the Preterite is NOT the same for the nosotros form as it is with the Present. ex.: comemos (present tense) comimos (preterite tense)

7 5. For IR Class verbs, the nosotros form is the same as it is for the Present Tense. Ex.:subimos (present) subimos (preterite)

8 6. Spelling changes: a. for any verb whose stem ends in a vowel, ió and ieron change to “yó” and “yeron.” Example:creer- to think/believe yo creí tú creíste él creyó nosotros creímos ellos creyeron Other verbs like this are oír (hear), leer (read) caer (fall)

9 b. The “tú” and “nosotros” forms also require a written accent for these four verbs. creísteoísteleístecaíste creímosoímosleímoscaímos

10 7. The verb DAR (to give) Though the verb dar is an AR class verb, it is conjugated as an ER/IR verb In the preterite tense. Yo di Tú diste Usted, él, ella dio Nosotros dimos Ustedes, ellos, ellas dieron Los muchachos dieron una caminata.