Recursio
Lesson 68. I was born, I learned: nací
10 words in this lesson
Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.
pretérito indefinido: -er / -ir
Pretérito indefinido: -er and -ir
Verbs in -er and -ir share the same endings:
| comer | vivir | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | comí | viví |
| tú | comiste | viviste |
| él, ella, usted | comió | vivió |
| nosotros | comimos | vivimos |
| vosotros | comisteis | vivisteis |
| ellos, ustedes | comieron | vivieron |
Stress matters again: como — “I eat,” comí — “I ate,” comió — “he ate.”
For regular -ir verbs, the nosotros form is the same as in the present: vivimos — “we live” and “we lived.” Not for -er: comemos (now) and comimos (yesterday).
Regular here
Many verbs that are irregular in the present are regular here: salir → salí, volver → volví, nacer → nací.
In the third-person forms of leer and oír, write y: leyó, leyeron; oyó, oyeron. The yo forms keep i: leí, oí.
For recognition: dormir has u in the he and they forms: durmió, durmieron.
Words in this lesson
Nacer means “to be born”: Nací en Dublín. — an active verb in Spanish, “I was born” in English. Aprender means “to learn.” Discutir means “to argue.”
Nací en Dublín. — I was born in Dublin.
Ayer comimos en el bar. — Yesterday we ate at the bar.
¿Dónde aprendiste español? — Where did you learn Spanish?
Decidimos compartir el postre. — We decided to share the dessert.
Javier leyó la carta. — Javier read the letter.
Dialogue
Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.
Javier Nora, ¿dónde naciste? Nora, where were you born?
Nora Nací en Dublín. ¿Y tú? ¿Naciste en Valencia? I was born in Dublin. And you? Were you born in Valencia?
Javier Sí. ¿Y dónde aprendiste español? Yes. And where did you learn Spanish?
Nora En Dublín, con una profesora de Madrid. Y aquí, en Madrid. In Dublin, with a teacher from Madrid. And here, in Madrid.
Javier Ayer comimos en el bar con Lucía. ¿Por qué no comiste con nosotros? Yesterday we had lunch at the bar with Lucía. Why didn't you eat with us?
Nora Porque salí con unas amigas. Escuchamos un concierto en el parque. Because I went out with some friends. We listened to a concert in the park.
Javier ¿Y te gustó? And did you like it?
Nora ¡Mucho! Volví a casa por la noche, muy tarde. A lot! I got home at night, really late.
Check yourself
Listen. What did you hear?
1. Nora talks about herself. How does she say “I was born in Dublin”?
2. How do you say “Yesterday we ate at the bar”?
3. How do you ask a friend “Where did you learn Spanish?”
4. How do you say “Javier read the letter” (in the past)?
Match each word with its translation
Build the sentence: “I was born in Dublin”
Build the question: “Where did you learn Spanish?”
What you can do now
- Say where you were born: Nací en Dublín.
- Talk about yesterday: Ayer comimos en el bar.
- Ask: ¿Dónde aprendiste español?
- Recognize: leyó, salí, volví
Key phrases of the lesson:
Nací en Dublín.
Ayer comimos en el bar.
¿Dónde aprendiste español?
Day 68 of 100. Next up: the following lesson.
Lesson 69. Went, did, had: fui, hice →The course is the first step. Next comes the Recursio app: short daily practice with spaced review.