Regular -ER Verb Past Participles

Regular -ER verbs are the second most common group of verbs in Spanish. Their past participles follow a consistent rule, making them straightforward for English speakers to learn and use correctly.

How to Form the Past Participle

To create the past participle of regular -ER verbs:

1. Chop off the -er ending from the infinitive.
2. Add -ido to the remaining part (the stem).

Formula: [verb stem] + ido

Some Common Examples

Here are a few common regular -ER verbs and their past participles:

1. comer (to eat) → comido
2. beber (to drink) → bebido
3. aprender (to learn) → aprendido
4. vender (to sell) → vendido
5. correr (to run) → corrido
6. temer (to fear) → temido
7. deber (to owe/should) → debido
8. comprender (to understand) → comprendido
9. responder (to answer) → respondido
10. prometer (to promise) → prometido

Using Past Participles in Context

1. Compound Tenses
   • “He comido demasiado.” (I have eaten too much.)
   • “Habían vendido todos los boletos.” (They had sold all the tickets.)
2. As Adjectives
   • “El problema comprendido es más fácil de resolver.” (The understood problem is easier to solve.)
   • “Las promesas prometidas deben cumplirse.” (The promised promises must be kept.)
3. In Passive Constructions
   • “La pregunta fue respondida por el experto.” (The question was answered by the expert.)
   • “La decisión está debida a varios factores.” (The decision is due to various factors.)

Key Points to Keep in Mind

1. The -ido ending never changes, no matter the subject’s gender or number, when used in compound tenses with “haber”.
2. When used as adjectives, past participles do agree in gender and number:
   • masculine singular: -ido
   • feminine singular: -ida
   • masculine plural: -idos
   • feminine plural: -idas
   Example: “Los problemas temidos no ocurrieron.” (The feared problems did not occur.)
3. Watch out for some common -ER verbs that have irregular past participles. Examples include:
   • hacer → hecho
   • poner → puesto
   • ver → visto
4. The stress in regular -ER past participles always falls on the second-to-last syllable (-i-do).
5. Unlike some special cases, regular -ER verb past participles do not require accent marks.

Mastering regular -ER verb past participles is crucial for building proficiency in Spanish, as they are used frequently in everyday communication and writing.