The spelling and pronunciation rules of Spanish are extremely consistent, and a conjugated form of the verb may have to change its spelling in order to maintain the pronunciation of the infinitive. In the
yo form of some verbs, adding -
í or -
é to the base of the verb changes the pronunciation of the word, so the spelling is changed to elicit the same basic sound as the infinitive.
Verbs that end in
-car
The vowel that follows the letter
c determines whether it is pronounced hard (like a
k) or soft (like an
s). The
c is pronounced soft when followed by an
i or an
e; it is pronounced hard when followed by an
o, a, or
u. Thus, a verb ending in -
car has the hard
c sound in its infinitive form. All the conjugated forms must maintain this sound, but the preterit
yo ending causes problems. The
c becomes a soft sound when you add -
é to the stem, which is unacceptable for a
-car verb. For this reason, the letter
c changes to
qu in the
yo form. Pronounce the ending (-
qué) like the English name “Kay.” The letter
u is never pronounced when it follows a
q. The combination of letters
qu is always pronounced like a
k, not like the sound in the English word “queen.” Table
1 is the preterit conjugation chart for the verb
practicar (to practice), whose conjugation is typical of all regular verbs that end in -
car, including those in the list that follows Table 4-6. To simplify the rule: If a verb ends in -
car, change the
c to
qu in the
yo form of the preterit.
|
TABLE 1
|
Preterit Forms of the Verb
Practicar (to Practice)
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
|
yo
|
practiqué
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
practicamos
|
|
tú
|
practicaste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
practicasteis
|
|
él
|
practicó
|
ellos
|
practicaron
|
|
ella
|
practicó
|
ellas
|
practicaron
|
|
usted
|
practicó
|
ustedes
|
practicaron
|
|
Some common verbs ending in -
car:
|
aparcar
|
to park
|
preterit
yo form:
aparqué
|
|
aplicar
|
to apply
|
preterit
yo form:
apliqué
|
|
buscar
|
to seek, to look for
|
preterit
yo form:
busqué
|
|
clarificar
|
to clarify
|
preterit
yo form:
clarifiqué
|
|
clasificar
|
to classify
|
preterit
yo form:
clasifiqué
|
|
colocar
|
to place, to put
|
preterit
yo form:
coloqué
|
|
comunicar
|
to communicate
|
preterit
yo form:
comuniqué
|
|
dedicar
|
to dedicate
|
preterit
yo form:
dediqué
|
|
destacar
|
to stand out
|
preterit
yo form:
destaqué
|
|
educar
|
to educate
|
preterit
yo form:
eduqué
|
|
empacar
|
to pack
|
preterit
yo form:
empaqué
|
|
explicar
|
to explain
|
preterit
yo form:
expliqué
|
|
fabricar
|
to make
|
preterit
yo form:
fabriqué
|
|
indicar
|
to indicate
|
preterit
yo form:
indiqué
|
|
justificar
|
to justify
|
preterit
yo form:
justifiqué
|
|
marcar
|
to mark
|
preterit
yo form:
marqué
|
|
masticar
|
to chew
|
preterit
yo form:
mastiqué
|
|
pescar
|
to fish
|
preterit
yo form:
pesqué
|
|
publicar
|
to publish
|
preterit
yo form:
publiqué
|
|
sacar
|
to take out
|
preterit
yo form:
saqué
|
|
significar
|
to mean
|
preterit
yo form:
signifiqué
|
|
tocar
|
to touch, to play a musical instrument
|
preterit
yo form:
toqué
|
|
Verbs that end in
-gar
The Spanish letter
g behaves a lot like the letter
c. The vowel that follows the letter
g determines whether it is pronounced hard (like the
g in “girl”) or soft (like the
g in “gem”). Infinitives that end in
-gar are pronounced with a hard
g sound. To prevent this hard
g from becoming a soft
g with the addition of the preterit
yo ending (-
é), the letter
u is added between the
g and
e to maintain the sound of the infinitive. This
yo ending (
-gué) sounds like the English word “gay.”
Table
2 is the preterit conjugation chart for the verb
cargar (to load), which serves as a good example for these types of verbs.
|
TABLE 2
|
Preterit Forms of the Verb
Cargar (to Load)
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
|
yo
|
cargué
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
cargamos
|
|
tú
|
cargaste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
cargasteis
|
|
él
|
cargó
|
ellos
|
cargaron
|
|
ella
|
cargó
|
ellas
|
cargaron
|
|
usted
|
cargó
|
ustedes
|
cargaron
|
|
The following -
gar verbs are conjugated like
cargar in the preterit tense. They are regular in all forms except that you must change the
g to
gu before the regular
yo ending.
Some common verbs ending in -
gar:
|
agregar
|
to add
|
preterit
yo form:
agregué
|
|
apagar
|
to extinguish, to turn off
|
preterit
yo form:
apagué
|
|
cargar
|
to load
|
preterit
yo form:
cargué
|
|
encargar
|
to put in charge, to entrust
|
preterit
yo form:
encargué
|
|
entregar
|
to hand in, to hand over
|
preterit
yo form:
entregué
|
|
jugar
|
to play a sport
|
preterit
yo form:
jugué
|
|
llegar
|
to arrive
|
preterit
yo form:
llegué
|
|
obligar
|
to compel, to oblige
|
preterit
yo form:
obligué
|
|
|
|
|
regar
|
to water (a plant)
|
preterit
yo form:
regué
|
|
segar
|
to mow (the lawn)
|
preterit
yo form:
segué
|
|
tragar
|
to swallow
|
preterit
yo form:
tragué
|
|
vagar
|
to wander
|
preterit
yo form:
vagué
|
|
Verbs that end in
-zar
You may have already learned a simple rule about the letter
z in Spanish: “Whenever
z is followed by
e, it changes to
c.” This rule is important in the preterit tense of verbs ending in -
zar because the
z must change to
c before adding the -
é ending in the
yo form. The preterit conjugation of the verb
rezar (to pray) in Table
3 is an example of how to conjugate the -
zar verbs in the list that follows.
|
TABLE 3
|
Preterit Forms of the Verb
Rezar (to Pray)
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
|
yo
|
recé
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
rezamos
|
|
tú
|
rezaste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
rezasteis
|
|
él
|
rezó
|
ellos
|
rezaron
|
|
ella
|
rezó
|
ellas
|
rezaron
|
|
usted
|
rezó
|
ustedes
|
rezaron
|
|
Common verbs that end in -
zar:
|
autorizar
|
to authorize
|
preterit
yo form:
autoricé
|
|
abrazar
|
to embrace, to hug
|
preterit
yo form:
abracé
|
|
alcanzar
|
to reach
|
preterit
yo form:
alcancé
|
|
almorzar
|
to eat lunch
|
preterit
yo form:
almorcé
|
|
amenazar
|
to threaten
|
preterit
yo form:
amenacé
|
|
avanzar
|
to advance
|
preterit
yo form:
avancé
|
|
comenzar
|
to begin
|
preterit
yo form:
comencé
|
|
empezar
|
to begin
|
preterit
yo form:
empecé
|
|
gozar
|
to enjoy
|
preterit
yo form:
gocé
|
|
lanzar
|
to throw
|
preterit
yo form:
lancé
|
|
organizar
|
to organize
|
preterit
yo form:
organicé
|
|
realizar
|
to fulfill, to realize (one's dream)
|
preterit
yo form:
realicé
|
|
rezar
|
to pray
|
preterit
yo form:
recé
|
|
simbolizar
|
to symbolize
|
preterit
yo form:
simbolicé
|
|
trazar
|
to trace
|
preterit
yo form:
tracé
|
|
tropezar
|
to stumble, to trip
|
preterit
yo form:
tropecé
|
|
i to
y
A spelling change is necessary in certain forms in the preterit when the stem of the verb ends in a vowel. If the letter
i is surrounded by two other vowels, you must change the
i to
y. The -
er and -
ir preterit endings cause the
i to change to
y in the third person forms (
él, ella, usted, ellos, ellas, and
ustedes). An accent will be added to any other
i in the conjugation chart. Look carefully at the accent marks in Table
4 . This conjugation chart of the verb
creer (to believe) serves as an example for the verbs in the list that follows.
|
TABLE 4
|
Preterit Forms of the Verb
Creer (to Believe)
|
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
Subject
|
Verb
|
|
yo
|
creí
|
nosotros/nosotras
|
creímos
|
|
tú
|
creíste
|
vosotros/vosotras
|
creísteis
|
|
él
|
creyó
|
ellos
|
creyeron
|
|
ella
|
creyó
|
ellas
|
creyeron
|
|
usted
|
creyó
|
ustedes
|
creyeron
|
|
Other verbs that have a base ending in a vowel are also conjugated like
Antonyms and Synonyms
The Past Tenses: Preterit and Imperfect