Despite the fact that the following verbs follow the ending-pattern of regular verbs in the preterite, such as hablar, ––habl-é, habl-aste, habl-ó, habl-amos, habl-asteis, habl-aron–– they do require a spelling change in the first person singular. For this reason, they are not regarded as regular verbs, but rather irregular, and they are commonly referred to as spelling-changing verbs. They are grouped below by the ending they share in the infinitive, which determines their spelling change in the preterite.
Notice an accent is required in both the first person and third person singular.
1. infinitive ends in –car: spelling change: c --> qu
acercar (to get/bring closer); atacar (to attack); arrancar (to start up a car; to tear up); buscar (to look for); sacar (to take out); tocar (to touch; to play an instrument)
2. infinitive ends in –gar: spelling change: g --> gu
colgar (to hang up), jugar (to play), llegar (to arrive), pagar (to pay), pegar (to hit; to glue), regar (to water the plants)
3. infinitive ends in –zar: spelling change: z --> c
abrazar (to hug), almorzar (to have lunch), destrozar (to destroy), empezar/comenzar (to start, to begin), enfatizar (to emphasize), gozar (to enjoy), organizar (to organize), pulverizar (to pulverize)
The spelling change in the first two groups is required to keep the sound of the infinitive ending 1) –car (notice that the pronunciation of buscé is completely different from the pronunciation of busqué, which follows the phonetic pattern of the group) and 2) –gar (notice that the pronunciation of juge is completely different from the pronunciation of jugué, which follows the phonetic pattern of the group).
The spelling change in the third group –zar is required because the letter z cannot be followed by vowel e or i. Remember that to keep the sound of letter z, a c is required when followed by vowels e and i. Notice the correct spelling of: zapato, zorro; but cerveza, ciudad.
No busqué trabajo porque no quise.
I didn’t look for a job becuase I didn’t want to.
No saqué la basura porque no tuve tiempo.
I didn’t take out the trash because I didn’t have time.
No toqué la guitarra esta semana porque estuve de viaje.
I didn’t play the guitar because I was on a trip.
No jugué al fútbol porque vinieron de visita mis abuelos.
I didn’t play soccer because my grandparents came to visit.
No llegué puntual porque no pude encontrar la dirección.
I didn’t arrive on time because I couldn’t find the address.
No pagué la factura del teléfono porque no supe dónde estaba.
I didn’t pay the phone bill because I didn’t know where it was.
No te abracé porque pusiste una cara muy rara.
I didn’t hug you because you made a funny face.
No almorcé en casa porque vinieron mis amigos de Chicago.
I didn’t have lunch at home because my friends from Chicago came.
No empecé a estudiar porque mi compañero de casa trajo amigos a cenar.
I didn’t start to study because my roommate brought friends for dinner.
Notice an accent is required in both the first person and third person singular.
1. infinitive ends in –car: spelling change: c --> qu
acercar (to get/bring closer); atacar (to attack); arrancar (to start up a car; to tear up); buscar (to look for); sacar (to take out); tocar (to touch; to play an instrument)
2. infinitive ends in –gar: spelling change: g --> gu
colgar (to hang up), jugar (to play), llegar (to arrive), pagar (to pay), pegar (to hit; to glue), regar (to water the plants)
3. infinitive ends in –zar: spelling change: z --> c
abrazar (to hug), almorzar (to have lunch), destrozar (to destroy), empezar/comenzar (to start, to begin), enfatizar (to emphasize), gozar (to enjoy), organizar (to organize), pulverizar (to pulverize)
Group I
| Buscar (to search for) | busqué, buscaste, buscó, buscamos, buscaron |
| Sacar (to take out) | saqué, sacaste, sacó, sacamos, sacaron |
| Tocar (to touch) | toqué, tocaste, tocó, tocamos, tocaron |
Group II
| Jugar (to play) | jugué, jugaste, jugó, jugamos, jugaron |
| LLegar (to arrive) | llegué, llegaste, llegó, llegamos, llegaron |
| Pagar (to pay) | pagué, pagaste, pagó, pagamos, pagaron |
Group III
| Abrazar (to embrace) | abracé, abrazaste, abrazó, abrazamos, abrazaron |
| Almorzar (to have a dinner, lunch ) | 1 almorcé, 2 almorzaste, 3 almorzó, 4 almorzamos, 5 almorzaron |
| Empezar (to begin ) | 1 empecé, 2 empezaste, 3 empezó, 4 empezamos, 5 empezaron |
The spelling change in the first two groups is required to keep the sound of the infinitive ending 1) –car (notice that the pronunciation of buscé is completely different from the pronunciation of busqué, which follows the phonetic pattern of the group) and 2) –gar (notice that the pronunciation of juge is completely different from the pronunciation of jugué, which follows the phonetic pattern of the group).
The spelling change in the third group –zar is required because the letter z cannot be followed by vowel e or i. Remember that to keep the sound of letter z, a c is required when followed by vowels e and i. Notice the correct spelling of: zapato, zorro; but cerveza, ciudad.
No busqué trabajo porque no quise.
I didn’t look for a job becuase I didn’t want to.
No saqué la basura porque no tuve tiempo.
I didn’t take out the trash because I didn’t have time.
No toqué la guitarra esta semana porque estuve de viaje.
I didn’t play the guitar because I was on a trip.
No jugué al fútbol porque vinieron de visita mis abuelos.
I didn’t play soccer because my grandparents came to visit.
No llegué puntual porque no pude encontrar la dirección.
I didn’t arrive on time because I couldn’t find the address.
No pagué la factura del teléfono porque no supe dónde estaba.
I didn’t pay the phone bill because I didn’t know where it was.
No te abracé porque pusiste una cara muy rara.
I didn’t hug you because you made a funny face.
No almorcé en casa porque vinieron mis amigos de Chicago.
I didn’t have lunch at home because my friends from Chicago came.
No empecé a estudiar porque mi compañero de casa trajo amigos a cenar.
I didn’t start to study because my roommate brought friends for dinner.