Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past

You’ve learned about irregular verbs and how to conjugate some of them in the present tense. If they’re irregular in the present, they’re usually irregular in other tenses too. There are no consistent rules to follow for this category, so the only way to learn the different conjugations is to study each one and practice, practice, practice! (Keep in mind, however, that there are some irregular verbs that follow the rules in most tenses, but are still called irregular due to the exceptions.)

Irregular -AR Verbs

These are the only two irregular verbs in the simple past that end in -ar. Circundarencircle Slow audio Play audio Verb , for example, ends in –dar, but it’s a regular verb, so its conjugation differs from the verb dar.
Verbs that end in –ear are considered irregular, since they have an i added to the verb stem in the present tense. In all other tenses, however, including the simple past, the i is not added and they follow the rules for regular -ar verbs.

Common Irregular Verbs in the Simple Past

Let’s look at 4 of the most common irregular verbs in the simple past:

You may have noticed that some of the verb endings are the same for irregular and regular verbs, despite the change in the verb stem. For example, the -eram ending for 3rd person plural is seen in both regular and irregular verbs. The most obvious differences tend to appear in the first and third person. Sometimes the first and third person even have the exact same (or a very similar) conjugation, as in:
Eu disseI saidindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Ela disseShe saidindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb

Ser and Ir

Notice anything interesting about the simple past tense conjugations for ser and ir?

That’s right, they share the exact same conjugation. Interesting, but potentially confusing… One means a person was “something” or “someone” (ser) while the other means someone went somewhere (ir). The latter is combined with a preposition, which helps to distinguish them.
Eu fui pai.I was a father. Slow audio Play audio Eu fui com o meu pai.I went with my father. Slow audio Play audio

Ver and Vir

Let’s look at another tricky pair.

The two conjugations above are different, but only slightly. Aside from the first and third person singular, they only differ because vir uses the letter e in its past tense conjugation.

The Verb Pôr

We also have pôr, a verb in a category of its own. Although it ends in –or, it’s considered part of the -er group, since it used to be “poer” long ago. Let’s see it in the simple past:

Derived Verbs

With so many different conjugations, it can be helpful to know a few shortcuts. Sometimes you’ll find that certain verbs which derive from other verbs are conjugated in the same way. Let us show you what we mean with the following examples:

Verbs that derive from “fazer”

• DesfazerUndo Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Ele fezHe didindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Ele desfezHe undid Slow audio Play audio
• LiquefazerLiquify Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Eu fizI didindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Eu liquefizI liquified Slow audio Play audio
• SatisfazerSatisfy Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Nós fizemosWe didindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Nós satisfizemosWe satisfied Slow audio Play audio

Verbs that derive from “dizer”

• ContradizerContradict Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Eu disseI saidindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Eu contradisseI contradicted Slow audio Play audio

Verbs that derive from “ver”

• AnteverForesee Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Eu viI sawindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Eu anteviI foresaw Slow audio Play audio
• PreverPredict Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Tu visteYou sawindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Tu previsteYou predictedindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb
• ReverReview Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Ele viuHe sawindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Ele reviuHe reviewed Slow audio Play audio

Verbs that derive from “pôr”

• ComporCompose, fix Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Elas puseramThey putindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Elas compuseramThey composedindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb
• DecomporDecompose, break down Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • PôsIt put Slow audio Play audio Conjugated Verbs Decompôs-seIt decomposed Slow audio Play audio
• DeporTestify Slow audio Play audio Verb
  • Nós pusemosWe putindicativo > pret. perfeito Slow audio Play audio View Conjugation Verb Nós depusemosWe testified Slow audio Play audio

Let’s Practice!

With all these irregular forms to memorize, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, especially since many of the most frequently used verbs are irregular! When you get stuck, don’t forget that you can use our Verbs page to search for and quiz yourself on the conjugations of hundreds of verbs. Let’s start practicing some now in the following lessons!