Spanish Verb Conjugation: Preterite Tense: -GAR Verbs with g -> gu


ahogar	to drown	ertrinken
castigar	to punish	bestrafen
encargar	to charge, entrust	anvertrauen
investigar	to investigate	untersuchen
llegar	to arrive	ankommen
pegar	to hit	schlagen
tragar	to swallow, gulp	verschlucken

To make the preterite forms, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add the endings given above, remembering the spelling rule.

Notice that the NOSOTROS form is exactly the same in the present & preterite tenses.

More information concerning the preterite tense

To see the preterite tense conjugated forms of these verbs, click on a pronoun below:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Yo form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -é to the stem.

Observe the spelling of the hard G sound: GA - GUE - GUI - GO - GU, changing G to GU in this case.

		This is the event.	This is what I did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogué	I drowned	I did drown	ich habe ertrunken
castigar	castigué	I punished	I did punish	ich habe bestraft
encargar	encargué	I entrusted	I did entrust	ich habe anvertraut
investigar	investigué	I investigated	I did investigate	ich habe untersucht
llegar	llegué	I arrived	I did arrive	ich bin angekommen
pegar	pegué	I hit	I did hit	ich habe geschlagen
tragar	tragué	I gulped	I did gulp	ich habe verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -é ending says I did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

Be very careful in the pronunciation of this form, as the present subjunctive yo, él, ella & Usted forms stress the penultimate syllable and don't have this written accent.

Each verb form in Spanish matches a specific pronoun, so Spanish doesn't need to use the pronoun.

That means: each of the conjugated forms you see says ALL of the given "meaning."

The YO is understood, because of the ending.

You don't need to say YO. If you do add the YO, it usually adds emphasis, saying I did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Tú form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -aste to the stem.

Tex-Mex forms of these verbs invert the ending somewhat, so that people generally add the ending -ates.

		This is the event.	This is what you did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogaste	you drowned	you did drown	du hast ertrunken
castigar	castigaste	you punished	you did punish	du hast bestraft
encargar	encargaste	you entrusted	you did entrust	du hast anvertraut
investigar	investigaste	you investigated	you did investigate	du hast untersucht
llegar	llegaste	you arrived	you did arrive	du bist angekommen
pegar	pegaste	you hit	you did hit	du hast geschlagen
tragar	tragaste	you gulped	you did gulp	du hast verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -aste ending says you did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

The pronoun TÚ does not need to be stated in the preterite.

It is already clear by the ending that TÚ is doing the action.

If you do add the TÚ, it usually adds emphasis, saying you did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Él form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -ó to the stem.

		This is the event.	This is what he did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogó	he drowned	he did drown	er hat ertrunken
castigar	castigó	he punished	he did punish	er hat bestraft
encargar	encargó	he entrusted	he did entrust	er hat anvertraut
investigar	investigó	he investigated	he did investigate	er hat untersucht
llegar	llegó	he arrived	he did arrive	er ist angekommen
pegar	pegó	he hit	he did hit	er hat geschlagen
tragar	tragó	he gulped	he did gulp	er hat verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -ó ending says he did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

Be very careful in the pronunciation of this form, as the present indicative yo form stresses the penultimate syllable and doesn't have this written accent.

You need to identify who is doing the action in this verb form: ÉL, ELLA, or USTED

Once you have identified that ÉL is the subject, you can leave the pronoun out.

The ÉL will be understood, because of the ending.

If you do add the ÉL, it usually adds emphasis, saying he did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Ella form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -ó to the stem.

		This is the event.	This is what she did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogó	she drowned	she did drown	sie hat ertrunken
castigar	castigó	she punished	she did punish	sie hat bestraft
encargar	encargó	she entrusted	she did entrust	sie hat anvertraut
investigar	investigó	she investigated	she did investigate	sie hat untersucht
llegar	llegó	she arrived	she did arrive	sie ist angekommen
pegar	pegó	she hit	she did hit	sie hat geschlagen
tragar	tragó	she gulped	she did gulp	sie hat verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -ó ending says she did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

Be very careful in the pronunciation of this form, as the present indicative yo form stresses the penultimate syllable and doesn't have this written accent.

You need to identify who is doing the action in this verb form: ÉL, ELLA, or USTED

Once you have identified that ELLA is the subject, you can leave the pronoun out.

The ELLA will be understood, because of the ending.

If you do add the ELLA, it usually adds emphasis, saying she did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Usted form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -ó to the stem.

		This is the event.	This is what you did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogó	you drowned	you did drown	Sie haben ertrunken
castigar	castigó	you punished	you did punish	Sie haben bestraft
encargar	encargó	you entrusted	you did entrust	Sie haben anvertraut
investigar	investigó	you investigated	you did investigate	Sie haben untersucht
llegar	llegó	you arrived	you did arrive	er ist angekommen
pegar	pegó	you hit	you did hit	Sie haben geschlagen
tragar	tragó	you gulped	you did gulp	Sie haben verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -ó ending says you did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

Be very careful in the pronunciation of this form, as the present indicative yo form stresses the penultimate syllable and doesn't have this written accent.

You need to identify who is doing the action in this verb form: ÉL, ELLA, or USTED

Once you have identified that USTED is the subject, you can leave the pronoun out.

The USTED will be understood, because of the ending.

If you do add the USTED, it usually adds emphasis, saying you did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Nosotros & Nosotras form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -amos to the stem.

Notice that the NOSOTROS form is exactly the same in the present & preterite tenses.

		This is the event.	This is what we did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogamos	we drowned	we did drown	wir haben ertrunken
castigar	castigamos	we punished	we did punish	wir haben bestraft
encargar	encargamos	we entrusted	we did entrust	wir haben anvertraut
investigar	investigamos	we investigated	we did investigate	wir haben untersucht
llegar	llegamos	we arrived	we did arrive	wir sind angekommen
pegar	pegamos	we hit	we did hit	wir haben geschlagen
tragar	tragamos	we gulped	we did gulp	wir haben verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -amos ending says we did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

Once you have clarified who WE is, the pronoun NOSOTROS does not need to be stated in the preterite.

It is already clear by the ending that NOSOTROS is doing the action.

If you did add the NOSOTROS, it usually adds emphasis, saying we did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Vosotros & Vosotras form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -asteis to the stem.

		This is the event.	This is what y'all did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogasteis	y'all drowned	y'all did drown	ihr habt ertrunken
castigar	castigasteis	y'all punished	y'all did punish	ihr habt bestraft
encargar	encargasteis	y'all entrusted	y'all did entrust	ihr habt anvertraut
investigar	investigasteis	y'all investigated	y'all did investigate	ihr habt untersucht
llegar	llegasteis	y'all arrived	y'all did arrive	ihr seid angekommen
pegar	pegasteis	y'all hit	y'all did hit	ihr habt geschlagen
tragar	tragasteis	y'all gulped	y'all did gulp	ihr habt verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -asteis ending says y'all did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

Once you have clarified who Y'ALL is, the pronoun VOSOTROS does not need to be stated in the preterite.

It is already clear by the ending that VOSOTROS is doing the action.

If you did add the VOSOTROS, it usually adds emphasis, saying Y'ALL did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Ellos form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -aron to the stem.

		This is the event.	This is what they did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogaron	they drowned	they did drown	sie haben ertrunken
castigar	castigaron	they punished	they did punish	sie haben bestraft
encargar	encargaron	they entrusted	they did entrust	sie haben anvertraut
investigar	investigaron	they investigated	they did investigate	sie haben untersucht
llegar	llegaron	they arrived	they did arrive	sie sind angekommen
pegar	pegaron	they hit	they did hit	sie haben geschlagen
tragar	tragaron	they gulped	they did gulp	sie haben verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -aron ending says they did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

This form is important, as it is used to form the past subjunctive forms.

You need to identify who is doing the action in this verb form: ELLOS, ELLAS, or USTEDES.

Once you have identified that ELLOS is the subject, you can leave the pronoun out.

The ELLOS will be understood, because of the ending.

If you do add the ELLOS, it usually adds emphasis, saying they did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Ellas form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -aron to the stem.

		This is the event.	This is what they did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogaron	they drowned	they did drown	sie haben ertrunken
castigar	castigaron	they punished	they did punish	sie haben bestraft
encargar	encargaron	they entrusted	they did entrust	sie haben anvertraut
investigar	investigaron	they investigated	they did investigate	sie haben untersucht
llegar	llegaron	they arrived	they did arrive	sie sind angekommen
pegar	pegaron	they hit	they did hit	sie haben geschlagen
tragar	tragaron	they gulped	they did gulp	sie haben verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -aron ending says they did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

This form is important, as it is used to form the past subjunctive forms.

You need to identify who is doing the action in this verb form: ELLOS, ELLAS, or USTEDES.

Once you have identified that ELLAS is the subject, you can leave the pronoun out.

The ELLAS will be understood, because of the ending.

If you do add the ELLAS, it usually adds emphasis, saying they did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense

Preterite Tense: -GAR verb conjugation

Ustedes form

To make this form, drop the -ar from the end of the infinitive and add -aron to the stem.

		This is the event.	This is what you did.	deutsch
ahogar	ahogaron	you drowned	you did drown	Sie haben ertrunken
castigar	castigaron	you punished	you did punish	Sie haben bestraft
encargar	encargaron	you entrusted	you did entrust	Sie haben anvertraut
investigar	investigaron	you investigated	you did investigate	Sie haben untersucht
llegar	llegaron	you arrived	you did arrive	sie sind angekommen
pegar	pegaron	you hit	you did hit	Sie haben geschlagen
tragar	tragaron	you gulped	you did gulp	Sie haben verschluckt

What do they have in common now ?

The stem (verb minus AR) tells you the action.

Using the -aron ending says you did this action, and it is an event that occurred in the past.

This form is important, as it is used to form the past subjunctive forms.

You need to identify who is doing the action in this verb form: ELLOS, ELLAS, or USTEDES.

Once you have identified that USTEDES is the subject, you can leave the pronoun out.

The USTEDES will be understood, because of the ending.

If you do add the USTEDES, it usually adds emphasis, saying you did ...

A look at other forms:

YO	TÚ	ÉL	ELLA	USTED
NOSOTROS	VOSOTROS	ELLOS	ELLAS	USTEDES

More information concerning the preterite tense