How to Conjugate -er/-ir Regular Verbs in the Preterite Tense for the Nosotros Form

Conjugating -er/-ir Regular Verbs in the Preterite Tense for the Nosotros Form

When conjugating -er/-ir regular verbs in the preterite tense for the nosotros form in Spanish, it's important to follow a simple rule. To form the nosotros form in the preterite tense, you need to drop the infinitive ending of the verb (-er or -ir) and then add -imos. Let's break down the process with examples:

1. Comer (to eat)

In the preterite tense for the nosotros form, the verb comer becomes comimos. We drop the -er ending and add -imos to form the correct conjugation for nosotros. Therefore, "we ate" in Spanish is "comimos."

2. Vivir (to live)

Similarly, the verb vivir in the preterite tense for the nosotros form becomes vivimos. By removing the -ir ending and replacing it with -imos, we get the correct form for the nosotros pronoun. Hence, "we lived" in Spanish is "vivimos."

It's worth noting that regular -er/-ir verbs in the preterite tense for the nosotros form follow this pattern consistently. However, stem-changing verbs in the present tense do not undergo any stem changes in the preterite tense for the nosotros form. For example, the verb dormir (to sleep) changes to dormimos in the nosotros form in the preterite tense, without any stem changes. This rule ensures consistency and simplifies the conjugation process for -er/-ir regular verbs in the preterite tense.