To form the preterite of a regular –ar verb, add the appropriate preterite ending to the verb’s stem.
Jugar is a stem-changing verb in which the u changes to ue in all forms except nosotros(as) and vosotros(as). jugar to play
nadar to swim nadé nadaste nadó juego juegas juega
nadamos nadasteis nadaron
jugamos jugáis juegan
Unidad 6, Lección 1
GRAMÁTICA
When you use jugar with the name of a sport, use jugar a + sport.
Preterite of -car, -gar, -zar Verbs
Regular verbs that end in -car, -gar, or -zar have a spelling change in the yo form of the preterite. buscar jugar almorzar c g z
becomes —› qu becomes — › gu becomes — › c
(yo) busqué
(yo) jugué
(yo) almorcé
Nota gramatical: To express what hurts, use doler (ue) followed by a definite article and a part of the body.
Me duele la cabeza. My head hurts.
The Verbs saber and conocer
Both saber and conocer mean to know and have irregular yo forms in the present tense. saber to know sé sabes sabe sabemos sabéis saben
conocer to know conozco conoces conoce conocemos conocéis conocen
• Use saber to talk about factual information you know. You can also use saber + infinitive to say that you know how to do something.
• Use conocer when you want to say that you are familiar with a person or place. You also use conocer to talk about meeting someone for the first time.
Nota gramatical: When a specific person is the direct object of a sentence, use the personal a after the verb and before the person.
No conozco a Raúl. I don’t know Raúl.
