Conjugate -uir verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Indefinido)

Some Spanish verbs end in -uir. They undergo a change when they are conjugated in the preterite tense.

Learn about -UIR verbs in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish

Distribuir, construirdestruir and huir, are irregular in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish, but they all follow the same pattern, replacing the last two letters of the infinitive with:

yo
-iste
él / ella / Ud. -yó
nosotros / nosotras  -imos
vosotros / vosotras  -isteis
ellos / ellas / Uds.  -yeron

Note the vowel change from -i- with a -y- in both the third person singular and plural forms (él and ellos). Also note that there are accents in the first person and third person singular forms.

Conjugation of "construir" in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish

yo construí
construiste
él / ella / Ud. construyó
nosotros / nosotras  construimos
vosotros / vosotras  construisteis
ellos / ellas / Uds.  construyeron


Here are some examples to look at and listen to:

Yo huí del peligro.I ran away from the danger.

construiste castillos en la arena.You built castles in the sand.

Ángeles distribuyó las bebidas a los corredores.Ángeles handed out drinks to the runners.

Nosotros destruimos la información.We destroyed the information.

Vosotros distribuisteis la propaganda.You distributed the propaganda.

Los ingenieros construyeron un puente.The engineers built a bridge.

Ustedes destruyeron mi castillo de arena.You destroyed my sand castle.

 Verbs that follow this pattern are

  • distribuir (to distribute)
  • construir (to build)
  • destruir (to destroy)
  • huir (to run away)
  • disminuir (to reduce)

See also: List of Spanish irregular -uir verbs (i > y) in the present and past tenses.

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Examples and resources

Ustedes destruyeron mi castillo de arena.You destroyed my sand castle.
Los ingenieros construyeron un puente.The engineers built a bridge.
Vosotros distribuisteis la propaganda.You distributed the propaganda.
Nosotros destruimos la información.We destroyed the information.
construiste castillos en la arena.You built castles in the sand.
Ángeles distribuyó las bebidas a los corredores.Ángeles handed out drinks to the runners.
Yo huí del peligro.I ran away from the danger.
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