If you've been studying Spanish for a while, you've probably already tackled the preterite tense and discovered that irregular verbs can feel like a real headache. The truth is, though, that once you know a few smart strategies, the whole system starts to make a lot of sense. In this lesson, we'll share 7 tricks to help you master the preterite conjugations of the most common irregular Spanish verbs — and make them stick for good.
Before we dive into the tricks, let's quickly clarify two terms we'll use throughout this lesson: stem and ending.
Take the verb hacer (to do/make). In the preterite, the yo form is yo hice (I did/made). Now, if you remove the -e at the end, what's left — hic- — is the stem. Simply put, the stem is the core part of the conjugated verb, and the ending is what you attach to it to indicate who is doing the action:
📌 hacer → yo hice (I did/made) → stem: hic- + ending: -e
Una de las primeras cosas que yo hice en el circo es el arte de payaso.
One of the first things that I did in the circus is the art of clowning.
Caption 24, Circo Berlín Lucas - Part 2
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Keep this in mind — it's the foundation of everything that follows!
This is the most important trick in the whole lesson — and the name tells you exactly what to do. The YES trick stands for Yo (I in English), Endings, and Stem, and it gives you a simple three-step method for cracking any irregular preterite conjugation in Spanish.
In irregular preterites, the yo form always ends in an unstressed -e — no exceptions and no accent mark. This is your starting point every single time.
Here's something that will save you a lot of time: most irregular preterite verbs share the same set of endings, regardless of whether they end in -ar, -er, or -ir in the infinitive:
• Yo (I): -e
• Tú (you): -iste
• Él/Ella/Usted (he/she/you formal): -o
• Nosotros (we): -imos
• Vosotros (you all — used in Spain): -isteis
• Ellos/Ustedes (they/you all): -ieron
Memorize these once and you can apply them to all irregular preterites. That's a big return on a small investment!
Once you know the yo form, you automatically know the stem you'll use for the entire conjugation. Just remove the -e ending and what's left is your stem. Now watch how it all comes together with the verb hacer (to do/make):
• Yo hice (I did/made) → stem: hic- + e
• Tú (you): -iste hic + iste = tú hiciste (you did/made)
• Él/Ella/Usted (he/she/you formal): -o hiz + o = hizo (he/she did/made)*
*You may have noticed that the stem changes from hic- to hiz- here. This is a spelling adjustment to preserve pronunciation. Think of the word tráfico (traffic) — notice how the c before o makes a hard k sound. If we wrote hico, the same thing would happen and the soft sound of hice would be completely lost. By changing c to z before the -o ending, we keep the pronunciation consistent.
Listen to the following clips — first a word ending in -co, then hizo — and notice how the z in hizo preserves that softer sound:
hay mucho tráfico.
there's a lot of traffic.
Caption 19, Ariana España
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pero lo que él hizo es grave.
but what he did is serious.
Caption 12, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 3 - Part 13
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• Nosotros (we): -imos hic + imos = hicimos (we did/made)
• Vosotros (you all — used in Spain): -isteis hic + isteis = hicisteis (you all did/made)
• Ellos/Ustedes (they/you all): -ieron hic + ieron = hicieron (they did/made)
See how it all comes together? That's the YES trick in action!
This is a small but very important detail that trips up a lot of learners. Regular preterites carry accent marks on the yo and él/ella/usted forms — think hablé (I spoke) and habló (he/she spoke). Irregular preterites, however, are written without any accent marks at all. So hice (I did), vine (I came), puse (I put), tuve (I had) — all without tildes. Keep this in mind and you'll avoid one of the most common written mistakes in Spanish
yo vine aquí a España hace veintitrés años. Mm...
I came here to Spain twenty-three years ago. Mmm...
Caption 13, Adriana y Laura Mijas
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The tú ending (-iste) and the vosotros ending (-isteis) are practically the same — you just add is at the end: -iste → -isteis. Once you know hiciste (you did/made), you practically already know hicisteis (you all did/made)! And this works for every single irregular preterite — no exceptions!
René, no sabes cuánto te agradezco lo que hiciste por nosotros.
René, you have no idea how much I appreciate what you did for us.
Caption 64, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 4 - Part 2
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¿Hicisteis vuestros deberes?
Did you guys do your homework?
Caption 56, Carlos explica Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Ustedes y vosotros
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One of the most effective strategies for learning irregular preterite stems is to group verbs into families based on their vowel. Most irregular preterite stems fall into one of two groups — the U verbs and the I verbs:
• tener (to have) → tuve (I had)
• estar (to be) → estuve (I was)
• andar (to walk) → anduve (I walked)
• poner (to put) → puse (I put)
• poder (to be able to) → pude (I could)
• saber (to know) → supe (I knew)
Pues, me cogí la furgoneta y estuve aquí unas semanas
Well, I took the van, and I was here for a few weeks,
Caption 42, Amaya Recordando - Part 3
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• hacer (to do/make) → hice (I did/made)
• venir (to come) → vine (I came)
• querer (to want) → quise (I wanted)
Yo quise mostrar las dos caras de la moneda,
I wanted to show both sides of the coin,
Caption 63, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 4 - Part 1
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⚠️ Watch out! There's a small third group worth knowing — verbs like decir (to say/to tell) → dije (I said) and traer (to bring) → traje (I brought) — whose stems end in -j. These verbs drop the i in the ellos/ustedes form and use -eron instead of -ieron: dijeron (they said) and trajeron (they brought) — not dijieron or trajieron. It's a small detail but one that's very easy to get wrong, so keep an eye on it!
Oiga, ¿y usted cómo supo mi nombre? Me lo dijeron los policías.
Hey, and how did you find out my name? The police officers told me.
Captions 25-26, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 3 - Part 13
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This one always surprises learners! The verbs ser (to be) and ir (to go) — two completely different verbs — are absolutely identical in the preterite: fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron. The only thing that tells them apart is context. The upside? You only need to memorize one set of forms for two of the most common verbs in Spanish!
y allí es donde fui a estudiar... un año, interna, mm... educación física.
and that's where I went to study... for a year, boarding, mm... physical education.
Caption 6, Mari Carmen Polanco
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sí fui muy honesto con todo el mundo,
I was indeed very honest with everyone,
Caption 14, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 5 - Part 3
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In Spanish, many verbs are built by adding a prefix to an existing verb — and they always follow the exact same preterite pattern as their root verb. For example, once you know poner (to put) → puse (I put), you automatically know:
• suponer (to suppose) → supuse (I supposed)
• proponer (to propose) → propuse (I proposed)
• componer (to compose) → compuse (I composed)
The same applies to tener (mantener, obtener, contener...) and venir (convenir, intervenir...). Learn the parent verb and the whole family comes for free!
y le propuse ir a tomar algo
and I suggested to her to go have a drink
Caption 46, Aprendiendo con Silvia Frases hechas - Part 2
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Mamá Bucha mantuvo el acontecimiento en secreto.
Mama Bucha kept the event secret.
Caption 34, Leyendas urbanas Chico Largo
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You don't need to learn every irregular preterite at once. Focus on the most common ones first — the verbs you'll actually use in real conversations every single day — and build from there:
• ser (to be) / ir (to go) → fui (I was / I went)
• hacer (to do/make) → hice (I did/made)
• tener (to have) → tuve (I had)
• estar (to be) → estuve (I was)
• poder (to be able to) → pude (I could)
• poner (to put) → puse (I put)
• venir (to come) → vine (I came)
• decir (to say) → dije (I said)
• saber (to know) → supe (I knew)
• querer (to want) → quise (I wanted)
y no tuve tiempo de ponerme en contacto con vosotros.
and I didn't have time to get in touch with you guys.
Caption 28, Negocios Problemas laborales - Part 2
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así que solo pudimos dar una pequeña vuelta por los alrededores
so we could only take a short stroll around the surrounding area
Caption 50, Viajando con Fermín Caravaning - Part 1
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Master these and you'll be able to communicate in the past tense with confidence in the vast majority of everyday situations. Here's a visual summary of everything we've covered today — save it and keep it handy!
You can also download this cheat sheet as a PDF — perfect for printing or keeping on your phone for quick reference!
Learning the preterite of irregular Spanish verbs doesn't have to feel overwhelming. Start with the YES trick, group your verbs into families, watch out for the small exceptions, and always prioritize the most common verbs first. But remember — the real trick is practice! Try building simple sentences you can actually remember: ayer fui al cine (yesterday I went to the movies), ella no pudo dormir (she couldn't sleep), ¿qué hiciste el fin de semana? (what did you do over the weekend?). The more you use these forms in real sentences, the faster they'll stick.
Do you have questions about any of the tricks we covered today, or would you like to share what works best for you? We'd love to hear from you — send us your comments and questions! ¡Hasta la próxima!
The letter H in Spanish presents a unique characteristic that sets it apart from many other letters in the alphabet: it's silent! That's right - in Spanish, the letter H is not pronounced at all. However, there are many important Spanish words that begin with this letter. Let's explore some interesting facts about the Spanish letter H and learn some common words that start with it.
The name of this letter in Spanish is hache (pronounced "AH-cheh" in English, where the 'ch' sounds like in "church"). Let's hear how to pronounce the name of this letter:
La letra hache es una letra muy fácil de pronunciar porque es una letra muda.
The letter h is a very easy letter to pronounce because it's a silent letter.
Captions 18-19, Fundamentos del Español 10 - La Pronunciación
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While the H is silent in Spanish words like hola or hacer, it does produce a sound when combined with C to form the digraph "ch," as we can hear in these examples:
"Mucho gusto".
"Mucho gusto" [literally "A lot of pleasure"].
Caption 48, Carlos explica Los cinco sentidos - Part 4
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El chachachá, la milonga o el fado
Cha-cha, milonga, or fado
Caption 28, Luis Guitarra No hay más cera que la que arde
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Laura, gracias por haber compartido tu historia con nosotros y con todos nuestros oyentes.
Laura, thank you for having shared your story with us and with all our listeners.
Caption 10, Tu Voz Estéreo Laura - Part 19
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Qué pena interrumpirlo en su hora laboral, pero necesito hablar con usted.
What a shame to interrupt you during your work hours, but I need to talk to you.
Captions 20-21, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 2 - Part 2
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¡Porque el que muestra el hambre no come!
Because he who shows hunger doesn't eat!
Caption 20, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 1 - Part 2
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Tiene mucha hambre.
She's really hungry.
Caption 59, El Aula Azul Conversaciones sobre fotos - Part 2
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Pues, puedes hacer muchísimas cosas.
Well, you can do very many things.
Caption 7, Clara y Cristina Hablan de actividades
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Las croquetas es una masa de harina con leche
Croquettes are a dough made of flour with milk
Caption 17, Con Marta por Madrid El tapeo - Part 1
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que esta audiencia debe ser suspendida hasta que existan garantías para mis clientes.
that this hearing must be suspended until there are guarantees for my clients.
Captions 65-66, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 5 - Part 4
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Mmm... Pero yo sí sé que a ti te encanta comer helado.
Mmm... But I do know that you love eating ice cream.
Caption 12, Cleer Una noticia triste
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Seguramente muchos de ustedes ya han usado algún tipo de herramienta
Surely, many of you have already used some type of tool
Caption 9, Aprendiendo con Carlos Inteligencia artificial - Part 1
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"Romper el hielo": superar la vergüenza al conocer a alguien.
"To break the ice": to overcome embarrassment when meeting someone.
Caption 54, Beatriz Expresiones relacionadas con el clima
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Eh, ahí vamos. Mire, este es mi hijo Kevin.
Um, we're hanging in there. Look, this is my son Kevin.
Caption 16, Los Años Maravillosos Capítulo 13 - Part 3
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Pero bueno, ha sido una historia de superación absoluta,
But well, it has been a story of absolute overcoming,
Caption 63, Amaya El burrito Valiente
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Hola, amigos de Yabla. Yo soy Adriana.
Hello, friends of Yabla. I'm Adriana.
Captions 1-2, Adriana y Laura Emprendimiento - Part 1
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una hoja de laurel,
a bay leaf,
Caption 26, El Aula Azul Receta de garbanzos
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el hombre más honrado y generoso que he conocido en la vida.
the most honorable and generous man I've met in my life.
Caption 53, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 3 - Part 13
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En español, normalmente no se dice la hora así, exactamente, sino que se tiende a redondear.
In Spanish, typically, the time is not said like that, exactly, but rather people tend to round off.
Captions 8-10, Aprendiendo con Silvia Horas, fechas y períodos de tiempo - Part 2
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Here are a few more frequently used Spanish words that begin with H:
[el] huevo (egg)
[el] hueso (bone)
[el] humo (smoke)
[el] horno (oven)
[el] hospital (hospital)
[el] hotel (hotel)
[el] hombro (shoulder)
[la] habitación (room)
[el] horizonte (horizon)
hermoso/hermosa (beautiful)
Remember that although these words begin with H, this letter is always silent in Spanish unless it appears in the combination "ch." The H in Spanish is like a silent guardian - it's there in writing but doesn't make itself heard!
That's all for today's lesson on Spanish words that begin with H. Can you think of any other common Spanish words that start with this silent letter? Don't forget to send us your suggestions and comments!
Do you know when to use the future perfect in Spanish? Known in Spanish as the futuro compuesto or antefuturo, the future perfect tense in Spanish works very similarly to its English counterpart to speak about things that "will have" happened at a given point of time in the future. However, despite its name, it can also be used to describe or ask about things that "must" or "would have" happened in the past! Let's take a look at how to conjugate the future perfect in Spanish as well examples of these usages.
Just like the Spanish present perfect tense, which is used to express things one "has done" in utterances like Yo he comido (I have eaten), the future perfect in Spanish employs the verb haber (an auxiliary, or helping, verb that means "have") plus the past participle (whose regular forms end in -ado or -ido and correspond to English participles ending in -ed or -en such as "danced," "taken," etc.). However, in contrast to the present perfect, where haber is conjugated in the present tense, the future perfect in Spanish employs the future tense of this verb. With this in mind, let's see the formula for conjugating the future perfect in Spanish:
Future tense of haber + past participle
Now, let's look at the future tense conjugations of the verb haber then hear how they are pronounced:
| Personal Pronoun: | Future Conjugation of Haber: |
|---|---|
| yo | habré (I will have) |
| tú | habrás (you will have) |
| él/ella/usted | habrá (he/she/you will have) |
| nosotros/as | habremos (we will have) |
| vosotros/as | habréis (you will have) |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | habrán (they/you will have) |
Habré, habrás, habrá, habremos, habréis, habrán.
I will have, you will have, he/she/you will have, we will have, you all will have, they/you all will have.
Caption 81, Escuela BCNLIP - Clase con Javi: el futuro
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And finally, we will examine some examples of this formula in action:
ya que entonces el hechizo habrá terminado.
because then the spell will have finished.
Caption 56, Cuentos de hadas - Cenicienta
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Habréis visto que sobre la mesa tengo también un trozo de limón.
You'll have seen that on the table, I also have a piece of lemon.
Captions 33-34, Soledad - Ensalada de alcachofa
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You may have noticed that, as we indicated in the introduction, while the first example refers to something that "will happen" in the future, the second describes something that the speaker's audience probably saw in the past! Let's examine more closely these two different ways to employ the future perfect tense in Spanish.
The following examples illustrate the use of the Spanish future perfect tense to describe what "will have" happened in the future, which the context indicates quite clearly:
todavía estará más bueno,
it will be even better
ya que habrá cogido más cuerpo y más sabor.
since it will have gotten more body and more flavor.
Captions 69-70, Fermín - Ensalada de tomate
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Dentro de cinco años, los ingenieros habrán terminado de construir el puente.
Within five years, the engineers will have finished building the bridge.
Para el año 2030, yo habré ahorrado mucho dinero.
By the year 2030, I will have saved a lot of money.
Let's conclude by looking at examples of the future perfect tense in Spanish that depict what "will" or "must" have happened in the past or speculate about what "would" or "could have" taken place:
Si pusieron atención,
If you paid attention,
se habrán dado cuenta que Kevin y Leo, que son hermanos,
you will have noticed that Kevin and Leo, who are brothers,
Captions 50-51, Carlos comenta - Los Años Maravillosos - Forma de hablar
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Bueno, querido, pero algo habrás hecho.
Well, dear, but you must have done something.
Caption 25, Muñeca Brava - 39 Verdades - Part 4
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¿Lo buscó bien?
Did you look for him well?
Lo buscó... -¿Pero dónde se habrá ido?
You looked for him... -But where would he have gone?
Caption 36, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante - Capítulo 3
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Although the translations for each of these examples vary slightly, what they all have in common is the fact that the action being described requires an educated guess about something that has already happened.
That's all for today. We hope that this lesson has helped you to understand when to use future perfect in Spanish, and don't forget to write us with your questions and comments.
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