Ready to delve deeper into the Spanish preterite? Let’s explore a unique stem change that affects just a handful of verbs: the O to U stem change.
When Do We Use the Preterite?
The preterite tense is your go-to for talking about completed actions in the past. More specifically, it’s used for:
- Actions completed in the past: Comí paella ayer (I ate paella yesterday)
- Actions that occurred at a specific time: La película empezó a las ocho (The movie started at eight)
- Actions that happened a specific number of times: Llamé tres veces (I called three times)
- Actions that were part of a chain of events: Primero estudié, luego salí con amigos (First I studied, then I went out with friends)
How Do O to U Stem Changes Work in the Preterite?
This stem change is exclusive to the preterite tense and only happens in the third person singular and plural forms (él/ella/usted and ellos/ellas/ustedes). Here’s the pattern:
- The ‘o’ in the stem changes to ‘u’ only in the third person singular and plural.
- All other forms keep the original ‘o’.
- These verbs also have irregular preterite endings.
Let’s conjugate the verb ‘dormir’ (to sleep) to see this in action:
| Subject Pronoun | Preterite Form |
|---|---|
| yo | dormí |
| tú | dormiste |
| él/ella/usted | durmió |
| nosotros/as | dormimos |
| vosotros/as | dormisteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | durmieron |
Which Verbs Have This Stem Change?
There are only three verbs that follow this pattern in the preterite:
- dormir (to sleep)
- morir (to die)
- poder (to be able to)
Example Sentences to Practice
- Yo dormí ocho horas anoche. (I slept eight hours last night.)
- Tú dormiste toda la mañana. (You slept all morning.)
- Él durmió profundamente después del largo viaje. (He slept deeply after the long trip.)
- Nosotros dormimos en una tienda de campaña durante el festival. (We slept in a tent during the festival.)
- Ellos durmieron hasta tarde el domingo. (They slept late on Sunday.)
- El famoso escritor murió en 1980. (The famous writer died in 1980.)
- Muchos soldados murieron en la batalla. (Many soldiers died in the battle.)
- Yo no pude asistir a la reunión ayer. (I couldn’t attend the meeting yesterday.)
- Ellos pudieron resolver el problema a tiempo. (They were able to solve the problem on time.)
Key Takeaways
- This stem change is exclusive to the preterite and only applies to three verbs.
- The change only happens in the third person singular and plural.
- These verbs also have irregular preterite endings.
- Don’t confuse this with the O to UE stem change in the present tense.
- The verb ‘poder’ in the preterite often translates to “managed to” or “was/were able to”.
- Practice recognizing when to use the preterite. The stem change only matters when you’re talking about completed past actions.
While the O to U stem change affects only a few verbs, they are commonly used. Mastering this change will boost your fluency and confidence when speaking about the past in Spanish. ¡Sigue practicando!
Synonyms:
- English: O to U Verbs in Simple Past, Past Simple, Preterite Tense, Past Historic
- Spanish: Verbos de Cambio Radical O a U en Pretérito Indefinido, Pretérito Perfecto Simple, Pretérito