Los siete irregulares del pretérito — 7 Key Irregular Preterites Side by Side
📚 Los siete irregulares del pretérito — 7 Key Irregular Preterites Side by Side
| Pronombre | ser / ir | hacer | tener | estar | ver | dar |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| yo | fui | hice | tuve | estuve | vi | di |
| tú | fuiste | hiciste | tuviste | estuviste | viste | diste |
| él/ella | fue | hizo | tuvo | estuvo | vio | dio |
| nosotros | fuimos | hicimos | tuvimos | estuvimos | vimos | dimos |
| ellos/ellas | fueron | hicieron | tuvieron | estuvieron | vieron | dieron |
ser and ir share IDENTICAL preterite forms — only context tells them apart. Fui means "I went" or "I was" depending on the sentence.
Two things confuse students the most: why hizo is spelled with a z, and why irregular preterites carry no written accent. Both have a logical explanation.
Earn the mark scheme marks
⚠️ Common Irregular Preterite Mistakes
These two errors appear regularly in GCSE writing and speaking. Both come from applying regular-verb rules to irregular verbs.
❌ Error 1: Ayer hicó mucho calor.
✅ Correcto: Ayer hizo mucho calor.
Why it costs marks: The preterite él/ella form of hacer is hizo — the c changes to z before the o ending to preserve the /θ/ sound. Hicó does not exist in Spanish and will be marked as an error. Never add the regular -ó ending to an irregular stem.
❌ Error 2: Fué al mercado. (with accent)
✅ Correcto: Fue al mercado.
Why it costs marks: fue is an irregular preterite — it carries no written accent. Students who learn the regular rule (hablé, habló) sometimes apply it to all preterites. Irregulars are exempt because their forms already look different from the present tense, so the accent is both unnecessary and incorrect.
Now try it yourself
Quiz · Question 1 of 13
Tap an answer to check it