Frequent Irregular Preterites: Tener, Estar, Hacer, Poder, and Querer

In this lesson, you will learn several high-frequency irregular preterite stems and one shared set of endings. You will also recognize three related stems from familiar verbs: poner, venir, and saber.

The shared irregular endings

These irregular preterite stems use the following endings without written accent marks:

Subject	Ending
	-e
	-iste
/ /	-o
/	-imos
/	-isteis
/ /	-ieron

Tener → tuv-

Subject	Form
	— I had
	— you had
/ /	— he / she had; you had
/	— we had
/	— you all had
/ /	— they / you all had

— Yesterday I had a lot of work.
— We had a meeting.

Estar → estuv-

Subject	Form
	— I was
	— you were
/ /	— he / she was; you were
/	— we were
/	— you all were
/ /	— they / you all were

— Yesterday I was at home.
— They were in Madrid for two days.

Hacer → hic- with hizo

Subject	Form
	— I did / made
	— you did / made
/ /	— he / she did / made; you did / made
/	— we did / made
/	— you all did / made
/ /	— they / you all did / made

The third-person singular is , not hico.

— Yesterday I did an activity.
— Ana made the meal.

Poder → pud-

Subject	Form
	— I was able to / could
	— you were able to / could
/ /	— he / she was able to; you could
/	— we were able to / could
/	— you all were able to / could
/ /	— they / you all were able to / could

In a completed-event context, poder often describes whether someone succeeded in being able to do something.

— I was able to buy the ticket.

Querer → quis-

Subject	Form
	— I wanted / tried to
	— you wanted / tried to
/ /	— he / she wanted / tried to; you wanted / tried to
/	— we wanted / tried to
/	— you all wanted / tried to
/ /	— they / you all wanted / tried to

Context matters with querer. Do not assign one English meaning mechanically to every completed use.

— I wanted / tried to call Ana.

Three additional familiar irregular stems

Recognize these as a limited extension of the same pattern:

poner → pus-
venir → vin-
saber → sup-

Poner → pus-

— I put
— you put
— he / she put
— we put
— you all put
— they put

Venir → vin-

— I came
— you came
— he / she came
— we came
— you all came
— they came

Saber → sup-

— I found out / knew
— you found out / knew
— he / she found out / knew
— we found out / knew
— you all found out / knew
— they found out / knew

The exact English meaning of saber in the preterite depends on context. In many completed-event contexts, it can mean found out.

Short completed account

Meaning:

— Yesterday I had a meeting.

— Afterward I did an activity and was able to finish the work.

— Ana came at five and put the documents on the table.

A practical irregular-preterite method

Learn the irregular stem with its infinitive: tuv-, estuv-, hic-, pud-, quis-, pus-, vin-, sup-.
Add the shared irregular endings without accent marks.
Remember as the special third-person singular of hacer.
Do not copy the accented endings of regular preterites onto these forms.
Interpret poder, querer, and saber from the completed-event context rather than from one fixed English gloss.

From Irregular Preterites to Everyday Past Dialogues

You can now form several frequent irregular preterites and use them in completed-event narratives. The next lesson focuses on distinguishing regular and irregular past forms in short everyday dialogues.