Spanish Preterite: New Stem Verbs

Activity Overview

Activity Includes: intermediate vocabulary and grammar

This storyboard activity is meant to highlight for students that a significant number of verbs in Spanish follow an entirely different pattern of verb conjugation in the preterite tense. These verbs use a new stem that must be memorized and a different, though similar, set of endings to other preterite verb categories. Although not a complete list, below are some of the most common new stem verbs, their new stems, and the endings that should be used. Note that the verb stems that end in “j” use a different ellos ending, and that the él form of hacer is also irregular.

In order to practice this preterite category, have students use the T-Chart layout, labeling the first column “Old Stem” and the second column “New Stem.” In the first column of cells, students will show how each verb does not use the standard stem. In the second column, students will show the change to the new stem for these verbs. For reinforcement students may also include the chart of possible endings for each verb. Next, have students use the new preterite verb in an appropriate sentence. The cell must also illustrate the meaning of the student’s sentence. The difficulty of this activity can be adjusted by specifying details for the student’s writing. The number of rows each student must complete may also be adjusted. Time allotment for this activity will vary based off specified sentence complexity and the number of verb examples requested.