Rules
True/False: Preterite tense stem changers are also called "boot verbs"
False
Boot verbs refers to the present tense stem changers since all verbs except nosotros and vosotros get the stem change.
In the preterite, only 3rd person él/ella/ud and ellos/ellas/uds get stem changes.
Pedro ________ (mentir) sobre sus notas de ciencias.
mintió
e-->ie present tense stem changer
conjugated for third person "Pedro" which is a specific "él"
Ends in -ir
ment --> mint with él ending ió (mintió)
Tu hermana ____________ (repetir) la película.
repitió
e->i present tense stem changer
ends in -ir
3rd person singular: even though it says tu which is commonly mistaken as "you", it is actually the possessive "YOUR sister" which is a specific ella.
repet-->repit with ió ending (repitió)
Ellos __________ (morir) de risas.
murieron
stem changes o->ue in the present
ends in -ir
being conjugated for 3rd person
mor->mur and you add the ellos ending -ieron (murieron)
to serve
servir
Of the following -ir verbs, which one will stem change in the preterite?
vivir
descubrir
sentir
abrir
sentir
Sentir has an e->ie stem change in the present tense (siento, sientes, siente...)
All of the other verbs are regular in the present tense.
Ud. __________ (encender) la luz en la clase.
encendió
e-->ie present tense stem changer
conjugated for third person "ud."
NOT an -ir verb
encend stays encend and ud. ending ió (encendió)
Yo te __________ (seguir) por las montañas.
seguí
e-->i stem changer in the present tense
ends in -ir
NOT conjugated for 3rd person as it's "yo"
The stem stays segu with í ending (seguí)
Ellos ___________ (encontrar) gangas en el mercado.
encontraron
o->ue stem changer and while it is being conjugated for 3rd person it does not end in -ir.
encontr- stays encontr- and you add the ellos ending for the -AR verb which is -aron (encontraron)
to turn on/light
encender
What conjugation endings will preterite tense stem changers use?
Regular preterite -ir endings
Stem changers will only have a change in the stem meaning that the endings will come from the regular endings (-í, -iste, -ió, -imos, -isteis, -ieron)
Mi familia ____________ (preferir) viajar por avión.
prefirió
e-->ie stem changer
ends in -ir
being conjugated for 3rd person. While many confuse family to either be plural 3rd person or nosotros, in Spanish family is a collective singular noun.
prefer-->prefir and the él ending -ió (prefirió)
Ellos me ___________ (pedir) el dinero.
pidieron
e-->i present tense stem changer
ends in -ir
being conjugated for 3rd person "ellos": the "me" which is commonly mistaken to mean that I did the action is actually an indirect object pronoun... I received a request from them, I didn't make the request.
ped-->pid with ieron ending (pidieron)
Aurora ___________ (dormir) en el torre.
durmió
o-->ue stem changer that ends in -ir being conjugated for 3rd person
dorm->durm with the ella ending -ió (durmió)
to lie/fib
mentir
What stem change options do we have in the preterite tense?
e-->i and o-->u
While the present tense has e->ie, e->i, o->ue, and u->ue we simplify that down for the preterite.
Tú te ____________ (divertir) en el concierto.
divertiste
Despite the verb being a present tense e-->ie stem changer that ends in -ir, we are NOT conjugating for 3rd person
despert stays despert and you add the tú ending -iste (divertiste)
El camarero (waiter) me __________ (servir) una hamburguesa.
sirvió
e-->i present tense stem changer
ends in -ir
being conjugated for 3rd person "el camarero" which is just a specific "él": the "me" which is commonly mistaken to mean that I did the action is actually an indirect object pronoun... I received the hamburger from the waiter, I wasn't the one who served it.
serv-->sirv with ió ending (sirvió)
Yo me ____________ (acostar) temprano.
acosté
o->ue present tense stem changer but does NOT end in -ir and not being conjugated for 3rd person
acost- stays acost- and you add the regular yo -AR ending -é (acosté)
seguir
Of the following, which verb(s) have the potential of stem changing in the preterite tense?
entender, acostar, vestir, salir, tener, preferir
(2) vestir and preferir
entender and acostar, despite being present tense stem changers, do not end in -ir
salir and tener are not present tense stem changers. Tener is irregular and salir has an irregular yo conjugation.
Las noches ____________ (convertirse) a noches calientes.
Se convirtieron
e->ie stem changer
ends in -ir
being conjugated for 3rd person plural. When non-human nouns are the subject they will always be 3rd person singular or plural. Since its plural nights that converted, you use the 3rd person plural
convert->convirt with the ellos ending -ieron (convirtieron)
Since it's reflexive, you put the reflexive pronoun se in front of the conjugated verb.
La chica _____________ (vestire) para la fiesta.
se vistió
e-->i present tense stem changer
ends in -ir
being conjugated for 3rd person "la chica"
vest-->vist with ió ending (vistió). Also because the action is reflexive, you need the reflexive "se" before the conjugated verb
pudimos
While it has an o->ue stem changer, we are not conjugating 3rd person and the verb does not end in -ir.
However, it is not a regular verb as it is one of the irregular verbs that we've learned.
To get oneself dressed
vestirse