These are my directions: Change the present tense verb in the sentence to the preterite tense. Can you help me understand how to do this?
These are the Questions(1-5):
1. Voy a estudiar.
2. Vas a dar comida al perro
3. Es un estudiante.
4. Somos aquí.
5. Son cómicos.
I'm supposed to be using ir and ser but I don't know when, where or why. Can you help me to understand this better? Please and thank you! Remember the Golden Rule :) Thanks again!
I'll send your post to our Spanish expert, SraJMcGin.
First of all you need to learn how to form the Preterit for both regular and irregular verbs.
-ar (hablar)
yo hablé, tú hablaste, él/ella/ usted habló,
nosotros, -as hablamos, vosotros, -as
hablásteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes hablaron
-er (comer)
yo comí, tú comiste, él/ella/usted comió,
nosotros, -as comimos, vosotros, -as comísteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes comieron
-ir (vivir)
yo viví, tú viviste, él/ella/usted vivió,
nosotros, -as vivimos, vosotros, -as vivísteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes vivieron
NOTE; the accents, color-code the endings so they stand out; that makes them easier to memorize.
Some irregulars that I see you have.
ir/ser (note that they will be identical, so usually it's the "a" that goes with "ir" that will identify that one.)
yo fui, tú fuiste, él/ella/usted fue, nosotros, -as fuimos, vosotros, -as fuisteis, ellos/ellas/ustedes fueron
Note: these are unstressed, or, in other words, have no accent marks.
Now, look at the subject (which is not stated above) = yo, tú, él, ella, usted, nosotros, -as, vosotros, -as, ellos, ellas, ustedes) in the Present Tense and shift that to the Preterit. Be SURE it is the same subject!
Now, you try them and I'll be back to check.
Sra (aka Mme)
OK. I've waited all I can. I will not be back unless MsSue sends me another note.
Sra (aka Mme)
Of course! I'd be happy to help you understand how to change present tense verbs to preterite tense in Spanish.
Let's start by understanding when and where to use the verbs "ir" and "ser."
The verb "ir" is used to express movement or motion. It is commonly translated as "to go" in English. For example, "Voy a estudiar" translates to "I am going to study." In this sentence, the verb "ir" (voy) is in the present tense. To change it to the preterite tense, you would replace "voy" with the appropriate form of "ir" in the preterite. In this case, the preterite form of "ir" is "fui." So "Voy a estudiar" in the preterite tense would be "Fui a estudiar," which translates to "I went to study."
The verb "ser" is used to identify or describe something or someone. It is commonly translated as "to be" in English. For example, "Es un estudiante" means "He/She is a student." To change this sentence to the preterite tense, you replace "es" with the appropriate form of "ser" in the preterite tense. In this case, the preterite form of "ser" (for he/she/it) is "fue." So "Es un estudiante" in the preterite tense would be "Fue un estudiante," which translates to "He/She was a student."
Here are the preterite forms of "ir" and "ser":
Ir:
- Yo fui (I went)
- Tú fuiste (You went)
- Él/Ella/Usted fue (He/She/You formal went)
- Nosotros/as fuimos (We went)
- Vosotros/as fuisteis (You plural went)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes fueron (They/You all went)
Ser:
- Yo fui (I was)
- Tú fuiste (You were)
- Él/Ella/Usted fue (He/She/You formal were)
- Nosotros/as fuimos (We were)
- Vosotros/as fuisteis (You plural were)
- Ellos/Ellas/Ustedes fueron (They/You all were)
Now, let's go through each sentence and change the present tense verb to the preterite tense:
1. Voy a estudiar. (I am going to study)
- Fui a estudiar. (I went to study)
2. Vas a dar comida al perro. (You are going to feed the dog)
- Fuiste a dar comida al perro. (You went to feed the dog)
3. Es un estudiante. (He/She is a student)
- Fue un estudiante. (He/She was a student)
4. Somos aquí. (We are here)
- Fuimos aquí. (We were here)
5. Son cómicos. (They are funny)
- Fueron cómicos. (They were funny)
By following the rules I explained above, you can successfully change present tense verbs to the preterite tense. I hope this explanation helps you understand the process better! Let me know if you have any more questions. Remember, the Golden Rule is to treat others as you would like to be treated. Thank you for your kind words, and you're very welcome!