Rocket Languages

More Spanish Preterite Tense Verbs

Verbs that Say One Thing and Mean Something Else


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The complications never end with the preterite tense. Not only are there piles of irregular verbs, but some verbs actually change their meaning when put into the preterite tense from the present.

If you speak Spanish on a regular basis, you will come to understand these differences just by hearing them spoken aloud in the context of a conversation. Right now, all you need to do is familiarize yourself with the idea that some verbs can have a different meaning in the past. The more Spanish you speak, the more you’ll adopt these meanings automatically.

Verb
Present Tense
Preterite (Past) Tense
conocer conozco a – I know (someone) conocí a – I met (someone)
poder podemos – we can pudimos – we managed to
no pudimos – we failed to
querer quiero – I want, I love quise – I tried to
no quise – I refused to
saber sabemos – we know supimos – we found out
tener tengo frío – I am cold tuve frío – I got cold

 

Por ejemplo:

2. ¿Podemos entrar a su casa? Can we come inside your house?
Pudimos entrar a tu casa. We managed to get inside your house.
   
3. Te quiero mucho. I love you very much.
Quise aprender a tocar el piano. I tried to learn to play piano.
   
4. Conozco a tus padres. I know your parents.
Conocí a tus padres. I met your parents.

Once you learn how to form the imperfect tense in the next section, you’ll learn how to give these verbs their original meaning again, as in, “I knew,” “I could,” “I wanted,” et cetera.


In the next section the confusion begins when you'll be introduced to the imperfect Spanish Preterite.

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Amy Waterman

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Amy Waterman became fluent in Spanish while living and working in the Andes Mountain region of Ecuador. Her extensive experience in Spanish learning systems led her to formulate the concept behind the Interactive Audio component of Rocket Spanish.
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