Recursio
Lesson 71. Said, could, came: dije, pude, vine
10 words in this lesson
Tap 🔊 and repeat out loud. These words come back in the dialogue and the exercises below.
dije, pude, puse, vine, quise, supe, di, vi
Special stems
Some common verbs have their own stem in the pretérito indefinido. They share endings without a written accent: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Tuve and estuve from lesson 69 work the same way.
| Verb | yo | él, ella | ellos |
|---|---|---|---|
| decir | dije | dijo | dijeron |
| poder | pude | pudo | pudieron |
| poner | puse | puso | pusieron |
| venir | vine | vino | vinieron |
| querer | quise | quiso | quisieron |
| saber | supe | supo | supieron |
Decir has no i in the they form: dijeron.
Quise ir, pero no pude. — “I wanted to go, but I couldn’t.” Supe su apellido. — “I found out their last name”: here supe means learning a fact.
Di and vi
Dar and ver have short forms, also without accents:
| dar | ver | |
|---|---|---|
| yo | di | vi |
| tú | diste | viste |
| él, ella, usted | dio | vio |
| nosotros | dimos | vimos |
| vosotros | disteis | visteis |
| ellos, ustedes | dieron | vieron |
Apologizing
Lo siento — “I’m sorry”: when you sympathize or admit fault. Perdón — “sorry, excuse me”: a short apology, also to get a stranger’s attention. Perdona (lesson 53) is the same request to a friend.
Words in this lesson
Poner un mensaje is colloquial Spain Spanish for “to send a message”: Te puse un mensaje. Avisar means “to let someone know”: ¿Por qué no me avisaste?
¿Por qué no viniste? — Why didn't you come?
No pude: tuve mucho trabajo. — I couldn't: I had a lot of work.
Me dijo una mentira. — He told me a lie.
Le di las llaves a Lucía. — I gave Lucía the keys.
Vi el accidente. — I saw the accident.
Dialogue
Listen to each line and repeat it. Try to understand it before you look at the translation.
Lucía Javier, ¿por qué no viniste a la reunión de vecinos? Javier, why didn't you come to the residents' meeting?
Javier Lo siento. No pude: tuve mucho trabajo. I'm sorry. I couldn't: I had a lot of work.
Lucía ¿Y por qué no me avisaste? And why didn't you let me know?
Javier Perdón, pero te puse un mensaje a las ocho. Sorry, but I sent you a message at eight.
Lucía ¿Un mensaje? No lo vi. A message? I didn't see it.
Javier ¡Ah! Fue un error. Lo envié a Nora. Oh! It was a mistake. I sent it to Nora.
Lucía ¿Y qué te dijo Nora? And what did Nora say to you?
Javier Me dijo: «¡Javier, yo no vivo en tu edificio!». She said: “Javier, I don't live in your building!”
Check yourself
Listen. What did you hear?
1. A friend didn't come to see you yesterday. How do you ask “Why didn't you come?”
2. How do you say “I couldn't: I had a lot of work”?
3. How do you say “He told me a lie” (yesterday)?
4. How do you say “I gave him the keys” (yesterday)?
Match each word with its translation
Build the question: “Why didn't you come?”
Build the sentence: “I couldn't: I had a lot of work”
What you can do now
- Ask: ¿Por qué no viniste?
- Explain: No pude: tuve mucho trabajo.
- Report: Me dijo una mentira.
- Apologize: Lo siento. Perdón.
Key phrases of the lesson:
¿Por qué no viniste?
No pude: tuve mucho trabajo.
Me dijo una mentira.
Day 71 of 100. Next up: the following lesson.
Lesson 72. A year ago and for a year: hace, desde →The course is the first step. Next comes the Recursio app: short daily practice with spaced review.