-UIR Verbs in Spanish Preterite (Past) Tense

Navigating the preterite tense (past tense) in Spanish can be tricky, especially with verbs ending in -UIR. But fear not! This guide breaks down the specific spelling change these verbs undergo, making it easy for you to express completed actions in the past.

Key Points to Remember

  1. Spelling Change:
    • Add ‘y’ before the ending in the third person singular and plural forms.
    • This change helps maintain the correct sound and syllable stress.
  2. Affected Forms:
    • Third person singular (él/ella/usted)
    • Third person plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes)
  3. Usage:
    • Expresses completed actions in the past.

Conjugation Pattern with ‘construir’ (to build)

SubjectPreterite Form
Yoconstruí
construiste
Él/Ella/Ustedconstruyó (note the accent)
Nosotrosconstruimos
Vosotrosconstruisteis
Ellos/Ellas/Ustedesconstruyeron

Common -UIR Verbs You’ll Encounter

  • Construir (to build)
  • Destruir (to destroy)
  • Incluir (to include)
  • Influir (to influence)
  • Contribuir (to contribute)
  • Sustituir (to substitute)
  • Huir (to flee)
  • Concluir (to conclude)
  • Distribuir (to distribute)
  • Excluir (to exclude)

Examples in Context

  1. “Ellos construyeron una casa nueva el año pasado.” (They built a new house last year.)
  2. “El incendio destruyó gran parte del bosque.” (The fire destroyed a large part of the forest.)
  3. “La profesora incluyó un capítulo extra en el examen.” (The teacher included an extra chapter in the exam.)

Important Notes:

  • Regular Endings: Despite the spelling change, -UIR verbs still use regular preterite endings for all other forms.
  • Accent Marks: The third person singular form requires an accent mark on the final ‘o’ to maintain the stress on the last syllable.
  • Other Tenses: This spelling change is exclusive to the preterite tense.
  • Exception: The verb ‘argüir’ (to argue) has a slight variation: argüí, argüiste, arguyó, argüimos, argüisteis, arguyeron.

Key Takeaway

With practice, you’ll easily master the -UIR verb conjugation in the preterite tense. Don’t forget the “y” and the accent, and you’ll be expressing past actions like a native speaker in no time!

Synonyms:

  • English: -UIR verbs in Simple Past Tense, Past Simple Tense, Preterite Tense, Past Indefinite Tense, Historical Past
  • Spanish: Verbos en -UIR en Pretérito Indefinido

Learn specific conjugations:

Related topics:

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