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Help with some preterite verbs!

 

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  #1  
Old June 07, 2009, 10:04 PM
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Help with some preterite verbs!

My teacher taught me some mnemonic devices to help me remember the stems for some verbs in the preterite: querer, poner, saber, poder.

poder - “He could eat pud-ding.”
saber - “He found out was-sup.” (saber also means to find out in the preterite tense)
poner - “He put the pus on the bus.” (slightly disgusting, but it works)
querer - “First you ‘quer’ and then you ‘kiss’.” (pronounce 'kiss' like 'quis' [kees] and pronounce 'quer' like 'care')

If anyone has any more mnemonics for preterite verbs, just let me know!

Last edited by laughingwithfee; June 08, 2009 at 08:34 PM.
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  #2  
Old June 07, 2009, 10:23 PM
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Very useful mnemonics!
First you ‘quer’ and then you ‘quis’ (wouldn't need explaining)
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Old June 07, 2009, 10:31 PM
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You're welcome!

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Very useful mnemonics!
First you ‘quer’ and then you ‘quis’ (wouldn't need explaining)
You're welcome!

My spanish teacher is a genius when it comes to teaching things that are hard to remember. She gives us mnemonics, hand gestures, even a few chants. ("Adjectives must agree-e-e-e-e... in gender and in number-r-r-r-r-r") I swear, we sound like a cult half the time, but it sure works!
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Old June 08, 2009, 04:10 AM
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Me gusta, los verbos del preterite son muy difícil
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Old June 09, 2009, 02:55 PM
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Me gusta, los verbos del preterite son muy difícil
I think of a preterite verb as being a nasty (an aste) verb, because I find them nasty things to use and conjugate.
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Old June 09, 2009, 04:34 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laughingwithfee View Post
My teacher taught me some mnemonic devices to help me remember the stems for some verbs in the preterite: querer, poner, saber, poder.

poder - “He could eat pud-ding.”
saber - “He found out was-sup.” (saber also means to find out in the preterite tense)
poner - “He put the pus on the bus.” (slightly disgusting, but it works)
querer - “First you ‘quer’ and then you ‘kiss’.” (pronounce 'kiss' like 'quis' [kees] and pronounce 'quer' like 'care')

If anyone has any more mnemonics for preterite verbs, just let me know!
is your Spanish class harder than mine? I don't think I learned these before, just verbs in the preterite tense
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  #7  
Old June 09, 2009, 05:42 PM
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Originally Posted by jchen View Post
is your Spanish class harder than mine? I don't think I learned these before, just verbs in the preterite tense
Don't worry, I don't believe that his Spanish be harder than your Spanish, I believe that each who has the opportunity to learn the essential in the school, for example you have one grade to learning in Spanish because you have more experience in the thread, I have seen your endeavor these las few months, even although you have much questions or doubts in some words, sometimes you don't grasp the whole sentences in Spanish because you don't have experience even in Spanish, you need to speak or to talk for telephone with someone of course if you have the chance, but it does not matter.

Keep with your improving your English.
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Old June 10, 2009, 04:06 PM
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Originally Posted by jchen View Post
is your Spanish class harder than mine? I don't think I learned these before, just verbs in the preterite tense
I skipped freshman Spanish. My mom speaks Spanish almost natively, so I had a basic understanding of freshman-level Spanish. I just had my final today... wow...
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Old June 10, 2009, 04:07 PM
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I think of a preterite verb as being a nasty (an aste) verb, because I find them nasty things to use and conjugate.
They are hard to conjugate, but it gets WAAAY easier. My Spanish teacher is a genius at getting sleepy teenagers to remember things. The irregular preterite verbs are a nightmare to try and remember, though.
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Old June 17, 2009, 01:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by laughingwithfee View Post
My teacher taught me some mnemonic devices to help me remember the stems for some verbs in the preterite: querer, poner, saber, poder.

poder - “He could eat pud-ding.”
saber - “He found out was-sup.” (saber also means to find out in the preterite tense)
poner - “He put the pus on the bus.” (slightly disgusting, but it works)
querer - “First you ‘quer’ and then you ‘kiss’.” (pronounce 'kiss' like 'quis' [kees] and pronounce 'quer' like 'care')

If anyone has any more mnemonics for preterite verbs, just let me know!
Muchos gracias, muy benificioso!
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