Irregular j-stems in the preterite
A group of common irregular verbs change their stems in the preterite to end in j. They use the same unaccented endings as other irregular preterite verbs, with one important exception: the ellos/ellas/ustedes ending drops the i and becomes -eron instead of -ieron.
| Pronoun | Irregular ending |
|---|---|
| yo | -e |
| tú | -iste |
| él/ella/usted | -o |
| nosotros/nosotras | -imos |
| vosotros/vosotras | -isteis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | -eron |
Traducir, traer, and decir
Here are the irregular j-stems for some of the most common verbs:
- traducir (to translate) becomes traduj-
- traer (to bring) becomes traj-
- decir (to say/tell) becomes dij-
- conducir (to drive) becomes conduj-
Notice how the third-person plural (ellos/ellas/ustedes) uses the special -eron ending.
| Who translated this text into your language? | ¿Quién tradujo este texto a tu idioma? |
| Yesterday I brought him the text, but not the translation. | Ayer le traje el texto, pero no la traducción. |
| They told me the meaning of the word. | Ellos me dijeron el significado de la palabra. |
| We did not translate the sentence into the new language. | No tradujimos la frase al nuevo idioma. |
Languages and communication
Use these irregular verbs to talk about having conversations, understanding different accents, and sharing information.
| What did you say about the teacher's accent? | ¿Qué dijisteis sobre el acento de la profesora? |
| My parents drove downtown for the meeting. | Mis padres condujeron al centro para la reunión. |
| The students brought the translation of the conversation. | Los estudiantes trajeron la traducción de la conversación. |
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