Leer, creer and proveer are irregular in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish, but follow the same pattern: the ending of the third person singular and plural (ella/ él/ usted and ellas/ ellos/ ustedes) replaces the -i- with a -y. The other endings are the same as regular -er verbs: -i, -iste, -imos, -isteis, but these verbs take an accent on the -i.
Learn about -eer verbs in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish
| yo | -í |
| tú | -íste |
| él / ella / Ud. | -yó |
| nosotros / nosotras | -ímos |
| vosotros / vosotras | -ísteis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | -yeron |
As you can see, there is a -y in the endings for the 3rd person singular and 3rd person plural.
Conjugation of "leer" inEl Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish
| yo | leí |
| tú | leíste |
| él / ella / Ud. | leyó |
| nosotros / nosotras | leímos |
| vosotros / vosotras | leísteis |
| ellos / ellas / Uds. | leyeron |
Look at and listen to these examples:
Verbs that follow this pattern are:
- leer (to read)
- creer (believe/think)
- proveer (provide)
Leer in El Pretérito Indefinido has the same type of irregularity as -uir verbs. See -uir verbs in Spanish: Conjugate -uir verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Indefinido) and Verb list: Irregular -uir verbs (i > y) in the present and past tenses.
For regular -er verbs in El Pretérito Indefinido in Spanish see:
Conjugate regular -er and -ir verbs in the preterite tense in Spanish (El Pretérito Indefinido)
Want to make sure your Spanish sounds confident? We’ll map your knowledge and give you free lessons to focus on your gaps and mistakes. Start your Braimap today »
