Grammar - Conjugating AR Verbs in the Past Tense

Because verbs can change from regular to irregular verbs depending upon the tense they are being conjugated in, many of the introductions in the Spanish Medium Review quizzes will provide you with the verb’s complete conjugated forms. This will only be provided once, however, so you will really need to pay close attention to them and practice, not only using the verb, but seeing it and spelling it. The more you learn how to use your verbs, the easier their correct spellings with the correct verb tenses will become. Now let’s look at the following AR verbs, both in their present tense form and in their past tense form.

AMAR (to love)

• Present Tense: (yo) amo; (tú) amas; (él/ella/usted/lo) ama; (nosotros/as) amamos; (vosotros/as) amáis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) aman
• Past Tense: (yo) amé; (tú) amaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) amó; (nosotros/as) amamos; (vosotros/as) amasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) amaron

BESAR (to kiss)

• Present Tense: (yo) beso; (tú) besas; (él/ella/usted/lo) besa; (nosotros/as) besamos; (vosotros/as) besáis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) besan
• Past Tense: (yo) besé; (tú) besaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) besó; (nosotros/as) besamos; (vosotros/as) besasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) besaron

GUSTAR (to like)

• Present Tense: (yo) gusto; (tú) gustas; (él/ella/usted/lo) gusta; (nosotros/as) gustamos; (vosotros/as) gustáis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) gustan
• Past Tense: (yo) gusté; (tú) gustaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) gustó; (nosotros/as) gustamos; (vosotros/as) gustasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) gustaron

SENTAR (to sit) (irregular in present / regular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) siento; (tú) sientas; (él/ella/usted/lo) sienta; (nosotros/as) sentamos; (vosotros/as) sentáis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) sientan
• Past Tense: (yo) senté; (tú) sentaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) sentó; (nosotros/as) sentamos; (vosotros/as) sentasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) sentaron

CONGELAR (to freeze)

• Present Tense: (yo) congelo; (tú) congelas; (él/ella/usted/lo) congela; (nosotros/as) congelamos; (vosotros/as) congeláis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) congelan
• Past Tense: (yo) congelé; (tú) congelaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) congeló; (nosotros/as) congelamos; (vosotros/as) congelasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) congelaron

ENCONTRAR (to find) (irregular in present / regular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) encuentro; (tú) encuentras; (él/ella/usted/lo) encuentra; (nosotros/as) encontramos; (vosotros/as) encontráis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) encuentran
• Past Tense: (yo) encontré; (tú) encontraste; (él/ella/usted/lo) encontró; (nosotros/as) encontramos; (vosotros/as) encontrasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) encontraron

VOLAR (to fly) (irregular in present / regular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) vuelo; (tú) vuelas; (él/ella/usted/lo) vuela; (nosotros/as) volamos; (vosotros/as) voláis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) vuelan
• Past Tense: (yo) volé; (tú) volaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) voló; (nosotros/as) volamos; (vosotros/as) volasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) volaron

CAMINAR (to walk)

• Present Tense: (yo) camino; (tú) caminas; (él/ella/usted/lo) camina; (nosotros/as) caminamos; (vosotros/as) camináis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) caminan
• Past Tense: (yo) caminé; (tú) caminaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) caminó; (nosotros/as) caminamos; (vosotros/as) caminasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) caminaron

LLAMAR (to call)

• Present Tense: (yo) llamo; (tú) llamas; (él/ella/usted/lo) llama; (nosotros/as) llamamos; (vosotros/as) llamáis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) llaman
• Past Tense: (yo) llamé; (tú) llamaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) llamó; (nosotros/as) llamamos; (vosotros/as) llamasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) llamaron

DEJAR (to leave)

• Present Tense: (yo) dejo; (tú) dejas; (él/ella/usted/lo) deja; (nosotros/as) dejamos; (vosotros/as) dejáis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) dejan
• Past Tense: (yo) dejé; (tú) dejaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) dejó; (nosotros/as) dejamos; (vosotros/as) dejasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) dejaron

PENSAR (to think) (irregular in present / regular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) pienso; (tú) piensas; (él/ella/usted/lo) piensa; (nosotros/as) pensamos; (vosotros/as) pensáis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) piensan
• Past Tense: (yo) pensé; (tú) pensaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) pensó; (nosotros/as) pensamos; (vosotros/as) pensasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) pensaron

LANZAR (to throw) (regular in present / irregular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) lanzo; (tú) lanzas; (él/ella/usted/lo) lanza; (nosotros/as) lanzamos; (vosotros/as) lanzáis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) lanzan
• Past Tense: (yo) lancé; (tú) lanzaste; (él/ella/usted/lo) lanzó; (nosotros/as) lanzamos; (vosotros/as) lanzasteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) lanzaron

Did you notice that lanzar is irregular in the past tense but only with the pronoun of 'I'. Instead of lanzé the 'z' is changed to a 'c'. This connects back to the rule about when a noun ends with the letter 'z' it is changed to a 'c' when adding 'es'. You are not adding 'es' but rather an 'é' so the same rule applies with verbs when an 'e' ending is added to the base when it ends with the letter 'z'.

The Accent Mark with Verbs

Now that you are learning the past tense you can once again see the importance of the accent mark. To say 'hablo' means 'I speak' but to say 'habló' with the accent mark above the 'o' it then means 'he/she/you/it spoke'. That little, teeny mark makes a huge difference!

The Quiz!

You have now reached the quiz section. This quiz will only focus on the AR verbs listed in the introduction. Read each quiz question and then see if you can quickly locate the correct answer. Be sure to study the conjugated forms of these AR verbs carefully, including when they are regular or irregular. When you feel comfortable, begin the quiz!