Complete Spanish

Track 88

1. More irregular point past bases Rule

The same pattern as the previous track, now filled out. Find the base and the endings are already known.

poner → pus-
puse, pusiste
hacer → hic-
hice, hizo, hicieron
venir → vin-
vine, vino
traer → traj-
traje, trajo, trajimos
haber → hub-
hube, hubo

Hizo is spelled with a z because hic- plus -o would spell "hico" and change the sound.

¿Dónde lo pusiste? · Ponía (the line past, regular)

Now you can hear where poner being -pose comes from. The English sound surfaces in puse and pusiste.

2. fui, shared by ser and ir Rule

The most irregular of all, on two counts: it does not follow the mixture rule, and it serves as the point past of both ser and ir.

fui = I was, and I went
fui
I was, I went
fue
he/she/it was, went
fuimos
we were, went
fuiste
you were, went
fueron
they were, went

No fui · No fue

3. The i falls away for ease of sound Pronunciation

By the rule, they would be "fuieron", which is awkward to say. So the i dropped out, and the same happened in two other verbs.

fueron
not "fuieron"
trajeron
not "trajieron"
dijeron
not "dijieron"

4. Why the mood tense comes from the "they" form Concept

Now the reason is clear. Building the past mood tense from the they point past means every irregularity, including these dropped i's, carries straight across.

fueron → fuera  ·  dijeron → dijera  ·  tuvieron → tuviera

Si yo fuera tú (if I were you) · Si lo tuviera, te lo contaría · Quería que lo hicieran · Quería que lo hiciéramos

English marks this the same way, with were rather than was, so the hypothetical past is mood tense in both languages.

5. Choose the regular verb when you are stuck Method

Practical advice for real conversation. Decir is very irregular in would, so if you do not want to deal with it mid-sentence, reach for contar instead, which also means to tell.

Si lo tuviera, te lo contaría.

Spanish likes to close with that lo: I would tell you it.

6. Build it and check, do not fear mistakes Method

The teacher is explicit that installing all this irregular content is not the aim. The aim is exposure to how the irregulars work, so that you can manage them while practising.

Do not be afraid of making mistakes. Build the verb the way you are used to, and if you suspect this one might be irregular, check. Ask the person you are speaking to.

Two memorable pairs from this track: vino con vino (he came with wine) and traje un traje (I brought a suit).