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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
pero lo que él hizo es grave.
but what he did is serious.
Caption 12, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 3 - Part 13
Play Caption
• 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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
¿Hicisteis vuestros deberes?
Did you guys do your homework?
Caption 56, Carlos explica Tuteo, ustedeo y voseo: Ustedes y vosotros
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
• 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
Play Caption
⚠️ 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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
sí fui muy honesto con todo el mundo,
I was indeed very honest with everyone,
Caption 14, Confidencial: Broma pesada Capítulo 5 - Part 3
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
Mamá Bucha mantuvo el acontecimiento en secreto.
Mama Bucha kept the event secret.
Caption 34, Leyendas urbanas Chico Largo
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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
Play Caption
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!
Have you ever wondered about the Spanish word ojalá and where it comes from? This beautiful expression is one of the most commonly used words in Spanish to express hopes and wishes, but its fascinating origins might surprise you. Today, we'll explore what ojalá means, how to use it correctly, and discover its amazing journey from Arabic to modern Spanish.
According to the Diccionario de la lengua española, ojalá is an interjection that expresses a strong desire for something to happen. Simply put, it means "I hope," "I wish" or "hopefully" in English, and it's used to express wishes, hopes, and desires.
¡Ojalá! ¿No?
I wish! Right?
Caption 15, Escuela BCNLIP Clase con Javi: el futuro - Part 21
Play Caption
But here's what makes this word truly special: every time you say ojalá, you're actually using a word that has traveled through centuries and cultures to reach modern Spanish.
The word ojalá has an incredible history that takes us back to medieval Spain. It originated from the Arabic Hispanic expression "wa šá lláh," meaning "and God has willed it." Through centuries of linguistic evolution, this Arabic phrase gradually transformed into the Spanish ojalá we use today.
Originally, this expression carried strong religious significance, directly invoking divine will. However, as Spanish developed and the word became fully integrated into the language, most speakers today use ojalá without any awareness of its religious roots. In modern Spanish, it simply serves as a way to express hopes and wishes, regardless of the speaker's religious beliefs or background.
Interestingly, Spanish also has the expression si Dios quiere (God willing), which maintains its obvious religious meaning, making ojalá unique as a hope-expressing word whose divine origins have become invisible to most speakers.
Understanding how to use ojalá correctly is essential for expressing hopes and wishes in Spanish. Let's look at the different ways you can use this versatile word.
You can use ojalá by itself as a complete response to express hope or agreement:
¡Ojalá! ¡Dios te oiga!
I hope so! May God hear you!
Caption 79, Confidencial: Asesino al Volante Capítulo 4 - Part 2
Play Caption
The most common way to use ojalá is followed by a verb in the subjunctive mood. This construction allows you to express specific hopes and wishes:
y ojalá disfruten del aprendizaje de nuestro idioma.
and I hope you enjoy learning our language.
Caption 56, Hispanoamericanos en Berlín Manuel y El barrilito
Play Caption
You can optionally add que between ojalá and the subjunctive verb. Both forms are correct and widely used:
Ay, ojalá que sea un buen muchacho, ¿no?
Oh, I hope that he's a good guy, right?
Caption 12, Muñeca Brava 39 Verdades - Part 1
Play Caption
In Mexico, Central America, and the Caribbean, you'll often hear ojalá y followed by the subjunctive:
Ojalá y pudiéramos llevarlos a un tribunal
I wish we could take them to court
Caption 12, Los casos de Yabla Errores gramaticales - Part 1
Play Caption
When learning how to use ojalá in Spanish, it's important to avoid this common error: never use ojalá with an infinitive verb. This is grammatically incorrect in Spanish.
❌ Incorrect: Ojalá encontrar trabajo pronto (This is grammatically wrong - don't use infinitives with ojalá)
✅ Correct: Ojalá encuentre trabajo pronto (I hope I find a job soon)
✅ Correct: Ojalá pueda encontrar trabajo pronto (I hope I can find a job soon)
Now that you understand the origins and grammar rules, you can confidently use ojalá to express your hopes and wishes in Spanish. Remember that this word connects you to centuries of linguistic history, from its Arabic roots to its modern Spanish usage.
Whether you're hoping for good weather, wishing someone luck, or expressing a deep desire, ojalá is an essential word that will make your Spanish sound more natural and expressive.
We hope this lesson has helped you understand the fascinating origins and proper usage of ojalá in Spanish. Feel free to share your thoughts and let us know if you have any questions about this beautiful expression!
French
German
Italian
Chinese
English
English 
Français
Deutsch
Español
Italiano
Português
