Decir, Traer, Dar, Ver, and -ducir Verbs in the Spanish Preterite
Decir, Traer, Dar, Ver, and -ducir Verbs in the Spanish Preterite
In this lesson, you will learn the preterite of — to say / tell, — to bring, — to give, — to see, and verbs ending in -ducir. Pay attention to the j-stems and to short forms that do not carry written accents.
Decir → dij-
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| — I said / told | |
| — you said / told | |
| / / | — he / she said; you said |
| / | — we said / told |
| / | — you all said / told |
| / / | — they / you all said / told |
Notice , not dijieron.
- — Ana said the address.
- — They told the truth.
For this lesson, — the truth is a useful reporting phrase.
Traer → traj-
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| — I brought | |
| — you brought | |
| / / | — he / she brought; you brought |
| / | — we brought |
| / | — you all brought |
| / / | — they / you all brought |
Again, the third-person plural ends in -eron after the j-stem.
- — I brought the passport.
- — Ana brought the suitcase.
- — They brought the documents.
-ducir verbs → -duj-
Use — to drive as a model.
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| — I drove | |
| — you drove | |
| / / | — he / she drove; you drove |
| / | — we drove |
| / | — you all drove |
| / / | — they / you all drove |
The -ducir infinitive changes to a j-stem in the preterite, and the third-person plural uses -eron.
— Carlos drove to Madrid.
Dar has short preterite forms
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| — I gave | |
| — you gave | |
| / / | — he / she gave; you gave |
| / | — we gave |
| / | — you all gave |
| / / | — they / you all gave |
Do not add written accent marks to or .
- — I gave my number.
- — Ana gave the address.
Ver also has short forms
| Subject | Form |
|---|---|
| — I saw | |
| — you saw | |
| / / | — he / she saw; you saw |
| / | — we saw |
| / | — you all saw |
| / / | — they / you all saw |
Do not add written accent marks to or .
- — I saw the station.
- — We saw the hotel.
- — They saw the announcement.
Compare dijeron with regular -ieron
- — they ate
- — they wrote
- — they said / told
- — they brought
- — they drove
The j-stem verbs use -eron, not -ieron.
Short completed account
Meaning:
— Yesterday I drove to the station.
— Ana brought the tickets and gave me one.
— Afterward we saw the train and Carlos said the platform number.
For this lesson, — gave me one is a practical phrase. Detailed indirect-object pronouns are taught later.
A practical formation method
- Link to dij- and to traj-.
- For -ducir verbs, use the corresponding -duj- stem.
- With j-stems, use -eron in third-person plural.
- Learn and as short preterite paradigms.
- Do not add accent marks automatically to , , , or .
- Use each form in a completed-event context and keep the infinitive relationship clear.
From Reporting Past Events to Reading Travel Diaries
You can now use the studied preterites of , , , , and -ducir verbs in simple completed-event accounts. The next lesson applies regular and irregular past forms to reading short Spanish travel diaries.