Hello! I wanted to start reading fiction books in spanish and was wondering if there are particular past tense verb endings that are commonly seen in them, especially when describing action (they went there, she move this thing, he smiled).
Thanks!
Okay so assuming you're asking for some vocab:
ser = to be [also used in telling time]
ir = to go
estar = to be (temporary)
tener = to have
venir = to come
decir = to say
contar = to tell / to count
agarrar / aferrar = to grab / to grab onto
coger = to grab [primarily Spain and some other countries; but for most countries this is a vulgar word so be REALLY careful]
cruzar = to cross (the street, as an example)
mirar = to look / to watch / to stare
desafiar = to challenge, to defy
superar = to overcome
dejar = to stop / to leave
dejar de hacer algo = to stop/quit doing something
volver = to return
volver a hacer algo = to do something again
mandar / enviar = to send
viajar = to travel
colocar = to place/put
pensar = to think/plan
poner = to put / to set, to place [among other things]
quedar = to leave / to remain
quedarse = to stay behind
sonreír(se) = to smile
fruncir (el ceño) = to frown [lit. "to furrow the brow"]
averiguar = to find out / to ascertain
And I have a bunch of other vocab lists in my vocabulario tag
But assuming you're asking about conjugations and everything... For my own sanity I'm going to assume you mean preterite [simple past], because in Spanish there is preterite and imperfect
The very quick and dirty rule there is that preterite is a completed action or describing something at a very specific point in time, and imperfect is often incomplete actions, actions that "would" happen like patterns of behavior, description, narration....... Imperfect tends to set scenes and preterite tends to be the action
Imperfect tense has less irregular conjugations, and you usually know you've found it when you find -aba or -ía endings. But you really do need to know ser and ir in particular... especially in writing, always know ser it is the most basic and useful verb and also the most irregular in pretty much every tense
...
I want to say be prepared for any past tense verb endings, but there are so many irregular ones. Preterite tense is probably the most irregular after the present tense. Let me just quickly mention the general rules for past tense conjugations - because at least then you can see what they look like and usually be like "oh hey that's probably past tense" and then look up the verb
But general rules - and these you kind of gain more comfort with as you go:
Regular -ar verbs in preterite
yo -> hablé
tú -> hablaste
él/ella/usted -> habló
ellos/ellas/ustedes -> hablaron
nosotros -> hablamos
vosotros -> hablasteis
Regular -er verbs in preterite
yo -> comí
tú -> comiste
él/ella/usted -> comió
ellos/ellas/ustedes -> comieron
nosotros -> comimos
vosotros -> comisteis
Regular -ir verbs in preterite
yo -> viví
tú -> viviste
él/ella/usted -> vivió
ellos/ellas/ustedes -> vivieron
nosotros -> vivimos
vosotros -> vivisteis
The rules are generally...
As always there are -ar verbs, -er verbs, and -ir verbs
-er and -ir verbs tend to share the same conjugation patterns in preterite
ser and ir share the same conjugation in preterite [fui, fuiste, fue, fueron, fuimos, fuisteis]
Monosyllabic conjugations do not take accent marks i.e. fui, vi, di, fue, vio, guio, crio, crie, guie, dio etc. Outside of your standard monosyllabic verbs [ser, ir, ver, dar] you see this most with guiar "to guide" and criar "to raise (children)" / "to be brought up"
-> though occasionally you see an irregular one like reír "to laugh" in preterite is considered 2 syllables but io is considered one syllable [like yo], so preterite reír preserves its accent mark with reí and reíste etc but then the 3rd person rio has no accent mark; it's linguistics and hard to explain and I wouldn't bring it up but you will see se rio "they laughed", or se rio (de alguien) "they laughed at someone / they made fun of someone"
Stem-changing verbs tend to only have irregularities in -ir verbs in 3rd person [as an example entender in present tense is I->ie, entiende etc... in preterite it's entendió; but seguir in preterite is sigue then to siguió]
-> In most cases these irregular changes are for -ir verbs
-> In most cases the -ir verbs that have irregular changes are E->I and E->IE; not counting verbs that are wholly irregular like venir and decir and querer
-> The same syllable that had the change in present tense will change in preterite, just with an I
-> Example: preferir is prefiere in present -> prefirió; then pedir is pide -> pidió; so while preferir is E->IE and pedir is E->I they share the same conjugation pattern as stem-changing -ir verbs
-> The main exceptions to this are dormir and morir which are the O->UE verbs that end in -ir; poder is wholly irregular........ in other words in preterite it seems normal until 3rd person where the O changes to a U; durmió and murió, then durmieron and murieron
The other rules to be aware of are those regarding verbs that have -eer, -aer, -uir etc. and then verbs ending in -car, -gar, -zar, -guar which are changes based on sound
In essence let me explain with leer ...in preterite the rule is to add -ió and -ieron to 3rd person. This creates a bit of an odd case where you would be making "leió" and "leieron" which is an unnecessary seemingly extra syllable
The issue there is that EI is a diphthong [two vowel sounds pronounced as one] and so is IÓ... in other words rey "king" is one syllable [EI sound], and reina "queen" is two syllables [EI sound]; similarly, comío is two syllables with com-ío
With leer and verbs like it you find yourself combining this sounds into a kind of triphthong [three vowel sounds pronounced as one]. For the sake of brevity and pronunciation it has to change
The verb conjugations for verbs ending in -eer, -eir, -aer, -uir are usually based on preserving the vowel sounds; either adding Y to keep it from being too odd [like how "leió" would be], or for preserving that initial vowel sound by adding an accent mark [like leíste, creíste, oíste etc]
leer
yo -> leí
tú -> leíste
él/ella/usted -> leyó
ellos/ellas/ustedes -> leyeron
nosotros -> leímos
vosotros -> leísteis
This also applies to -aer [caer -> cayó/cayeron], -uir [contribuir -> contribuyó/contribuyeron], and a bit of an oddity like oír "to hear" [oír -> oyó/oyeron]
The only verb that I can think of that's an exception to this particular one is traer and verbs related to it because for some reason it goes to traje, trajiste, trajo, trajeron, trajimos, trajisteis - which is unusual
I say it's unusual because that particular conjugation pattern is more common for -cir and verbs; though linguistically traer is related to "traction", "attract", "detract", "retract" so that's probably why
But for reference decir goes to dije, dijiste, dijo, dijeron, dijimos, dijisteis which is usually counted as its own irregular verb...
Or conducir or introducir follow that pattern; conduje / introduje etc.
...
The next big rule based on sounds is the -car, -gar, -zar, and -guar verbs. These are based on phonetics. They do follow regular rules, but in all of these cases it's the yo form that's the issue
-car for example has a hard C/K sound; but CE is a soft C/S sound
A verb like colocar "to place" wants you to preserve that hard -car sound, that's why it turns to coloqué in yo because QU has that hard C/K sound
Similarly pagar if you wrote GE it would have a soft H sound [like la gelatina]... to keep that hard G sound you had the GU to it as pagué so that it's pronounced closer to guerra "war" would be
-zar has a similar problem but a bit linguistically different; empezar has the Z/S sound but now you want é... but ZE isn't a letter combination you often see in Spanish (neither is ZI for that matter)... as in "zero" is cero ... so to get that sound you substitute the ZE for CE; empecé
And -guar is not a verb ending you see often so it's not always in textbooks, so this might take some explanation
averiguar "to find out" has a GUA sound, which would be like GWA in English; that W sound is there is the point. If you add the E, you get that same problem in reverse now; GUE omits the W sound to a pure G sound
How to preserve the W sound? It becomes averigüé with the umlaut ü ; the umlauts [called "dieresis" in linguistics] aren't common, but they do show up over U every so often. In all cases it's to change the U [ooh] sound to more of a W sound....... The not-linguistic reasoning is that ü is like half the sound or you half open your mouth to say it, so if you interrupt the U sound in Spanish it comes out a bit like a W
-
ALSO - verbs ending in LLIR/LLER and ÑIR/ÑER are a bit irregular
The LL and Ñ are almost considered vowels for preterite conjugation. It's unlikely you'll see LLIR/LLER verbs as they're pretty rare, but this is how it would work:
bullir "to bubble/bustle" [uncommon word, you may see el bullicio as "hustle and bustle" as a noun, but it meant "bubbling" or agitation/activity]
...You're unlikely to see bullir but if you do it's usually in reference to "reach a boiling point"
engullir = to engulf / to wolf down food
bullir = to bubble, to reach a boiling point [more common is hervir "to boil"]
zambullir(se) = to dive [as in the sport or something involving a diving board etc; bucear is "to dive" like scuba diving]
yo -> bullí
tú -> bulliste
él/ella/usted -> bulló
ellos/ellas/ustedes -> bulleron
nosotros -> bullimos
vosotros -> bullisteis
Keep in mind LL has a Y/I sort of sound and you'll understand the reasoning behind bulló and bulleron... because it comes out a bit like "buyo" and "buyeron", you don't need an additional I
While it's regular, you would expect -ió or -ieron, but because LL fulfills the function of the I sound, it can skip it and just add the -ó/-eron
More likely you will see a verb ending in ÑIR though
gruñir = to growl, to grumble
tañer = to ring (a bell) [sometimes it means "to play an instrument" but you usually use tocar for that - this I've heard specifically for ringing bells]
teñir = to dye / to tinge
bruñir = to polish [pulir is more common; bruñir is "to burnish", so more literary but can be common in some contexts]
ceñir = to cinch / to cling to, to stick to [usually clothes; like a "girdle" is el ceñidor but this is when fabric is more constricting or tighter as opposed to being loose, but ajustado/a "tight" and ajustar "to adjust/tighten" is the more common word]
ceñir(se) = to surround [often said of places, like la niebla (se) ciñó la ciudad is "fog encircled the city" or "fog clung to the city" that sort of feeling, or la muralla ciño la ciudad "the battlement encircled the city"...... ceñir(se) can have other meanings but it's usually attachment or adherence in its meaning]
teñir and gruñir are the ones you're most likely to see
Like teñir(se) el pelo is "to dye one's hair"
yo -> teñí
tú -> teñiste
él/ella/usted -> tiñó
ellos/ellas/ustedes -> tiñeron
nosotros -> teñimos
vosotros -> teñisteis
Note: teñir is E->I stem-changing, that's why it's tiñó/tiñeron
But the idea is the same that Ñ has a Y/I sound to it, so 3rd person can omit the additional I
This also works with a regular -ir verb; gruñó/gruñeron for "they growled" is quite common to see in stories... both for monsters and to indicate a tone of voice
...
This has nothing to do with what you asked, but just keep in mind that Spanish (in general) goes out of its way to help you spell things in a uniform way - so the sounds make sense, but the spelling might confuse you until you learn Spanish phonemes [sound particles] or in other words, how words sound in Spanish with certain combinations of vowels and consonants
Big Random Linguistic-y Tangent
You sometimes see ü more in Spanish approximations of English words that had a W. Particularly peninsular Spanish [Spain] hates Anglicisms [English words] and they used to change names much more often, they go out of their way sometimes to write it phonetically the way a Spanish-speaker would understand it. This usually involves GU or the ü
Primarily you're going to see this with W sounds, K sounds, and double letter English words
As an example guau is "wow"; it's that exact sound [it's also the sound of a dog barking so guau guau is like "bow-wow", or "woof"]
Another one is "whisky" is sometimes written as güisqui - güi for "WH", then squi for the "skee" sound
The name Wendy is sometimes written as Guendi or Güendi (just for fun)
And older names particularly names from the British Isles would get translated all the time - Guinevere in literature is Ginebra [also the word for "gin", and "Geneva" in Switzerland]
...Also speaking of Switzerland, that would be (la) Suiza because of the W sound, or suizo/a for "Swiss"
They don't do it anymore I don't think but my textbook wrote el quiosco for "kiosk" because they really did not want the K to be used too much
But I also see guiverno for "wyvern" in fantasy, grogui for "groggy" [like sleepiness or dazed just like English]
A funny one is that huevón "dumbass" [lit. "big egg/testicle"] would sometimes be written as güevón then Chile decided to write it as weón
So just know this particular quirk of Spanish is primarily Spain, as Latin America is generally more okay with the English alphabet and adapting words directly from English instead of sort of translating them [the big example of the translation stuff is - el feedback is usually la retroalimentación which is "backwards feeding"; but more commonly in technology you'll know el ratón as "mouse" the thing you click because it is literally "mouse/rat"]
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Like other similar langauges, German has two past tenses. The line between the two is unclear. How do we know to use präteritum or perfekt?
Always use preterite for sein in spoken German
Ich war verzückt als ich es gehört habe.
= I was ecstatic when I heard it.
The preterite is almost exclusive used in this form in spoken German mainly because it is so common. It is the most common verb, so the single-syllable verb matches better.
Always use preterite for modal verbs in spoken German
Du solltest mehr Deutsch üben.
= You should have practiced more German.
It is more common to use the preterite for modal verbs to avoid the double infinitive construction necessary in the perfekt of modal verbs:
Er hat perfektes Detusch sprechen wollen.
= He wanted to speak perfect German.
To avoid this construction, it’s most common to use the preterite in spoken German.
The preterite is the Erzählzeit (narrative time)
When telling a story, especially in written form, you will encounter the preterite more. It is most helpful for narration. Rather than being used to tell me what you ate for breakfast, preterite will be common in the situation where mom tells you about what it was like when she was a little girl.
That is not to say it’s about the distance in time. It is about the way you view the past. If you are the narrator for your own story, you’ll be more likely to use it. You will see it more in writing, not because it is formal, but because writing has a more narrative tone.
10 years ago we were making our first sounds as an unnamed project. Baden Powell & Vinícius de Moraes’s Canto de Iemanjá provided a starting point from which to emanate and explore and Sabrina Ratté crafted video projections, transcribing our sounds in vibrant hues, shapes and lines. Had we considered our project would persist beyond the first performance? We cannot recall, but wish it to continue serving as a tie that binds us.
Photo : December 15 2011 at Casa del popolo, opening for Preterite
🌸 Spanish Verbs that Change Meanings in the Perfect and Imperfect 🌙
In Spanish there are several verbs that exist that have different meanings in the perfective aspect (ex. present perfect or preterite) and in the imperfective aspect (ex. imperfect past or present tense.) This post is going to take a look at 7 of the most common verbs that change meanings in the perfect and imperfect aspect.
Note: This post assumes you have an understanding of the preterite, imperfect, present tense, and present perfect conjugations. If you don’t know these tenses, how they are different, and how to conjugate them, this post might be difficult to follow.
🌸 Part I - Saber 🌙
The word saber typically means ‘to know’, and in the imperfective aspect it keeps that meaning. Meanwhile, in the perfective aspect the word saber would mean ‘to find out’ or ‘to learn’.
Examples:
¿Sabes tú que Luis habla francés? - Did you know Luis speaks French?
¿Supiste tú que Luis habla francés? - Did you find out that Luis speaks French?
Ella no sabía que su papá estaba muerto - She didn’t know her dad was dead
Ella no ha sabido que su papá estaba muerto - She didn’t find out that her dad was dead
Yo sé esto - I know this
Yo supe esto - I found this out
🌸 Part II - Conocer 🌙
The word conocer typically means ‘to know (a person or place)’ or ‘to be familiar with’, and in the imperfective aspect it still means that. In the perfective aspect, however, the word conocer comes to mean ‘to meet (a person)’.
Examples:
Hace cinco años que lo conocí - It’s been five years since I met him
Hace cinco años que lo conocía - I’ve known him for five years
¿Conoces tú María? - Do you know Maria?
¿Has conocido tú María? - Have you met Maria?
No conocemos la maestra - We don’t know the teacher
No hemos conocido la maestra - We haven’t met the teacher
🌸 Part III - Poder 🌙
The word poder in the imperfective aspect means ‘to be able to’, whereas in the perfective aspect the word poder means ‘to manage to.’
Examples:
Puedo hablar español - I can speak Spanish
Pude hablar español - I managed to speak Spanish
¿Puede hacer eso para mí? - Can you do that for me?
¿Ha podido hacer eso para mí? - Have you managed to do that for me?
Ella podía correr muy rápido - She used to be able to run very fast
Ella pudo correr muy rápido - She managed to run very fast
🌸 Part IV - Estar 🌙
In the imperfective aspect, the word estar typically means ‘to be’, especially with regards to being in a physical or emotional state (ex. sick, happy, sad, excited, etc.) or in a place. In the perfective aspect, the word estar tends to carry a meaning closer to ‘to become’ or ‘to get’.
Examples:
Lo siento, estaba enojada - Sorry, I was angry
Lo siento, estuve enojada - Sorry, I got mad
Estaba enfermo porque comió carne cruda - He was sick because he ate raw meat
Estuvo enfermo porque comió carne cruda - He got/became sick because he ate raw meat
¿Por qué estás triste? - Why are you sad?
¿Por qué has estado triste? - Why have you gotten sad?
🌸 Part V - Tener 🌙
In the imperfective aspect, the word tener tends to mean ‘to have’ or ‘to own’ something. Meanwhile in the perfective aspect, the word tener has a meaning closer to ‘to get’ or ‘to recieve.’
Examples:
Tengo quince dolores - I have fifteen dollars
Tuve quince dolores - I got fifteen dollars
Mi mamá tenía dos perros - My mom used to have two dogs
Mi mamá ha tenido dos perros - My mom has gotten two dogs
Ella tiene un libro - She has a book
Ella ha tenido un libro - She’s recieved a book
🌸 Part VI - Querer 🌙
The word querer in the imperfective aspect typically means ‘to want’ something, and often it is used in conjunction with verb to express wanting to do something. On the other hand, the word querer in the imperfect aspect tends to mean something closer to ‘to try’.
Examples:
Quieres comer una arepa, ¿verdad? - You want to eat an arepa, right?
Quisiste comer una arepa, ¿verdad? - You tried to eat an arepa, right?
Nosotras queríamos comprar una casa - We wanted to buy a house
Nosotras hemos querido comprar una casa - We’ve tried to buy a house
¿Quieren venir ustedes? - Do you all want to come?
¿Quisieron venir ustedes? - Did you all try to come?
🌸 Part VII - No Querer 🌙
The negative form of querer carries a different meaning in the perfective aspect. In the imperfective aspect it simply means ‘to not want’ something, however, in the perfective aspect it actually means something closer to ‘to refuse.’
Examples:
No queríamos ir a la fiesta - We didn’t want to go to the party
No quisimos ir a la fiesta - We refused to go to the party
No quiero ver esa película - I don’t want to see that movie
No he querido ver esa película - I’ve refused to see that movie
¿Todavía no quieres ir? - You still don’t want to go?
¿Todavía no quisiste ir? - You still refused to go?
Disclaimer: I’m not a native speaker of Spanish, just a lover of the language. If there are any mistakes or things you think I missed please let me know so I can correct this post! 💖
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Like how do you people who does this all the time do it? Writing it in preterite/past tense comes naturally for me, and present tense have been a whole new ride for me. An uncomfortable ride may I add but I’m gonna do this! I’m gonna finish this fic in present tense because that’s what fits just this one fic the best!