Grammar - Conjugating ER Verbs in the Past Tense

If you have already taken the Spanish Medium Review quiz titled Grammar: Conjugating AR Verbs in the Past Tense! then you know how this quiz is going to work. If you have not already reviewed and taken that quiz, then please do so now. The introduction of that quiz will provide you with more information on conjugating verbs in the past tense. The only difference with this quiz is that it will focus only on ER verbs. Now let’s take a look at some of those verbs.

HACER (to make/to do) (irregular in both present and past)

• Present Tense: (yo) hago; (tú) haces; (él/ella/usted/lo) hace; (nosotros/as) hacemos; (vosotros/as) hacéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) hacen
• Past Tense: (yo) hice; (tú) hiciste; (él/ella/usted/lo) hizo; (nosotros/as) hicimos; (vosotros/as) hicisteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) hicieron

LEER (to read) (regular in present / irregular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) leo; (tú) lees; (él/ella/usted/lo) lee; (nosotros/as) leemos; (vosotros/as) leéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) leen
• Past Tense: (yo) leí; (tú) leíste; (él/ella/usted/lo) leyó; (nosotros/as) leímos; (vosotros/as) leísteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) leyeron

PONER (to place) (irregular in both present and past)

• Present Tense: (yo) pongo; (tú) pones; (él/ella/usted/lo) pone; (nosotros/as) ponemos; (vosotros/as) ponéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) ponen
• Past Tense: (yo) puse; (tú) pusiste; (él/ella/usted/lo) puso; (nosotros/as) pusimos; (vosotros/as) pusisteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) pusieron

VER (to see) (irregular in both present and past)

• Present Tense: (yo) veo; (tú) ves; (él/ella/usted/lo) ve; (nosotros/as) vemos; (vosotros/as) veis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) ven
• Past Tense: (yo) vi; (tú) viste; (él/ella/usted/lo) vio; (nosotros/as) vimos; (vosotros/as) visteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) vieron

DOLER (to ache) (irregular in present / regular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) duelo; (tú) dueles; (él/ella/usted/lo) duele; (nosotros/as) dolemos; (vosotros/as) doléis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) duelen
• Past Tense: (yo) dolí; (tú) doliste; (él/ella/usted/lo) dolió; (nosotros/as) dolimos; (vosotros/as) dolisteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) dolieron

TENER (to have) (irregular in both present and past)

• Present Tense: (yo) tengo; (tú) tienes; (él/ella/usted/lo) tiene; (nosotros/as) tenemos; (vosotros/as) tenéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) tienen
• Past Tense: (yo) tuve; (tú) tuviste; (él/ella/usted/lo) tuvo; (nosotros/as) tuvimos; (vosotros/as) tuvisteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) tuvieron

BEBER (to drink) (regular in both present and past)

• Present Tense: (yo) bebo; (tú) bebes; (él/ella/usted/lo) bebe; (nosotros/as) bebemos; (vosotros/as) bebéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) beben
• Past Tense: (yo) bebí; (tú) bebiste; (él/ella/usted/lo) bebió; (nosotros/as) bebimos; (vosotros/as) bebisteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) bebieron

CREER (to believe) (regular in present / irregular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) creo; (tú) crees; (él/ella/usted/lo) cree; (nosotros/as) creemos; (vosotros/as) creéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) creen
• Past Tense: (yo) creí; (tú) creíste; (él/ella/usted/lo) creyó; (nosotros/as) creímos; (vosotros/as) creísteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) creyeron

ARDER (to burn) (regular in both present and past)

• Present Tense: (yo) ardo; (tú) ardes; (él/ella/usted/lo) arde; (nosotros/as) ardemos; (vosotros/as) ardéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) arden
• Past Tense: (yo) ardí; (tú) ardiste; (él/ella/usted/lo) ardió; (nosotros/as) ardimos; (vosotros/as) ardisteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) ardieron

CAER (to fall) (irregular in both present and past)

• Present Tense: (yo) caigo; (tú) caes; (él/ella/usted/lo) cae; (nosotros/as) caemos; (vosotros/as) caéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) caen
• Past Tense: (yo) caí; (tú) caíste; (él/ella/usted/lo) cayó; (nosotros/as) caímos; (vosotros/as) caísteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) cayeron

LLOVER (to rain) (irregular in present / regular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) lluevo; (tú) llueves; (él/ella/usted/lo) llueve; (nosotros/as) llovemos; (vosotros/as) llovéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) llueven
• Past Tense: (yo) lloví; (tú) lloviste; (él/ella/usted/lo) llovió; (nosotros/as) llovimos; (vosotros/as) llovisteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) llovieron

COGER (to catch) (irregular in present / regular in past)

• Present Tense: (yo) cojo; (tú) coges; (él/ella/usted/lo) coge; (nosotros/as) cogemos; (vosotros/as) cogéis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) cogen
• Past Tense: (yo) cogí; (tú) cogiste; (él/ella/usted/lo) cogió; (nosotros/as) cogimos; (vosotros/as) cogisteis; (ellos/ellas/ustedes/los) cogieron

As you can see, there are a number of irregular verb conjugations going on here. Again, there is no set rule so learning these tense forms will be all memorization. Just take your time with each verb. Practice looking at the verb endings, saying the verbs and even writing the verbs down. When you feel comfortable with one verb, move on to the next. When you have familiarized yourself with each verb given here, move on to the quiz questions. Try to challenge yourself by not looking back at the introduction. If you take your time, you will be able to master each of these verbs!