Spanish Irregular Preterite Verbs

Learn the most important irregular verbs in the Spanish preterite tense (pretérito indefinido): forms like fui, tuve, hice, dije, pude, puse, supe, traje, conduje and cupo.

Usage / Uso

Use the preterite for completed actions in a finished past timeframe.

Common triggers: ayer (yesterday), anoche (last night), la semana pasada (last week), hace dos horas (two hours ago).

For a broader overview of irregular patterns across tenses, see the Spanish irregular verbs guide.

Key Irregular Verbs

Ser / Ir was / went
fui, fuiste, fue, fuimos, fuisteis, fueron

Fui a Madrid. I went to Madrid.

Tener had
tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron

Tuve una idea. I had an idea.

Estar was / were
estuve, estuviste, estuvo, estuvimos, estuvisteis, estuvieron

Estuve en casa. I was at home.

Hacer did / made
hice, hiciste, hizo, hicimos, hicisteis, hicieron

Hice la tarea. I did the homework.

Decir said / told
dije, dijiste, dijo, dijimos, dijisteis, dijeron

Dije la verdad. I told the truth.

Poder managed / could
pude, pudiste, pudo, pudimos, pudisteis, pudieron

Pude terminar. I managed to finish.

Poner put / became
puse, pusiste, puso, pusimos, pusisteis, pusieron

Puse la mesa. I set the table.

Venir came
vine, viniste, vino, vinimos, vinisteis, vinieron

Vine temprano. I came early.

Querer wanted / tried
quise, quisiste, quiso, quisimos, quisisteis, quisieron

Quise ayudar. I wanted/tried to help.

Saber found out
supe, supiste, supo, supimos, supisteis, supieron

Supe la respuesta. I found out the answer.

Dar / Ver gave / saw
di, diste, dio... / vi, viste, vio...

Le di una oportunidad. Vi la película. I gave him/her a chance. I saw the movie.

-ducir verbs drove / translated
conduje, condujiste, condujo, condujimos, condujisteis, condujeron

Conduje cinco horas. I drove for five hours.

Traer brought
traje, trajiste, trajo, trajimos, trajisteis, trajeron

Traje los documentos. I brought the documents.

Andar walked / went around
anduve, anduviste, anduvo, anduvimos, anduvisteis, anduvieron

Anduve por el centro. I walked around downtown.

Caber fit
cupe, cupiste, cupo, cupimos, cupisteis, cupieron

No cupo en la caja. It didn’t fit in the box.

Pattern Cheat Sheet

super-short forms ser / ir → fui, dar → di, ver → vi
tuv- / estuv- / anduv- group tener → tuve, estar → estuve, andar → anduve
u-stem group poder → pude, poner → puse, saber → supe, caber → cupe
i-stem group hacer → hice, querer → quise, venir → vine
j-stem group decir → dije, traer → traje, conducir → conduje, traducir → traduje
no regular preterite accents These irregular preterite forms do not carry the regular preterite accents: tuve, not tuvé.

Important Notes

  • Ser and ir share the exact same preterite forms: fui, fuiste, fue.... Context tells you the meaning.
  • Hacer changes spelling in the third person singular: hizo, not hico.
  • J-stem verbs drop the regular i in third person plural: dijeron, trajeron, condujeron.
  • Saber in the preterite often means “found out”; poder often means “managed to”; no poder means “couldn’t / failed to”.
  • Querer can mean “wanted” or “tried”; no quiso often means “refused”.

Quick Reference

Memorize these high-frequency forms first:

fui, tuve, estuve, anduve, hice, dije, pude, puse, vine, quise, supe, cupo, traje, vi, di

Top 20 Daily Expressions

1
Ser / Ir → fui Fui al médico porque me sentía mal. I went to the doctor because I was feeling unwell.
2
Ser / Ir → fue La reunión fue mucho más larga de lo esperado. The meeting was much longer than expected.
3
Tener → tuve Tuve la oportunidad de hablar con ella. I had the opportunity to speak with her.
4
Tener → tuvieron Tuvieron problemas para encontrar el lugar. They had trouble finding the place.
5
Estar → estuve Estuve trabajando todo el fin de semana. I was working all weekend.
6
Estar → estuvo Estuvo muy amable conmigo. He/She was very kind to me.
7
Poder → pude No pude terminar el proyecto a tiempo. I couldn't finish the project on time.
8
Poder → pudieron Por fin pudieron resolver el problema. They finally managed to solve the problem.
9
Poner → puse Puse mucha atención durante la clase. I paid close attention during class.
10
Poner → se puso Se puso nervioso antes del examen. He got nervous before the exam.
11
Hacer → hice Hice todo lo posible para ayudar. I did everything possible to help.
12
Hacer → hizo La noticia hizo que cambiara de opinión. The news made me change my mind.
13
Decir → dije Le dije la verdad desde el principio. I told him/her the truth from the beginning.
14
Decir → dijeron Me dijeron que llegara temprano. They told me to arrive early.
15
Venir → vine Vine porque quería hablar contigo. I came because I wanted to talk to you.
16
Querer → quise Quise ayudarte, pero no pude. I wanted to help you, but I couldn’t.
17
Saber → supe Supe la noticia ayer por la tarde. I found out the news yesterday afternoon.
18
Traer → traje Traje los documentos que me pediste. I brought the documents you asked me for.
19
Conducir → conduje Conduje durante cinco horas seguidas. I drove for five hours straight.
20
Dar → di Le di una segunda oportunidad. I gave him/her a second chance.
Spanish Past Tense Start with regular preterite forms and finished past time markers. Perfect vs Preterite Compare he comido and comí with clear time logic. Top 10 Preterite Irregulars Focus on the most useful high-frequency forms. Top 40 Irregular Verbs Compare must-know irregular verbs across essential forms. Irregular Preterite Quiz Practice these forms with targeted questions. Past Tense Quiz Practice preterite, present perfect, and imperfect contrast. Spanish Imperfect Tense Learn habits, descriptions, and background in the past. Irregular Verbs Guide Review grouped irregular verb patterns across the site. Future Irregulars Study irregular future verbs and daily expressions.