Preterite of Ser, Ir, Dar, and Hacer

These four verbs are among the most frequently used in Spanish, and they have some of the most unusual preterite forms. The biggest surprise? Ser and ir have identical conjugations in the preterite. Let us work through each one.

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Ser (to be) and Ir (to go) — Identical Preterite Forms

This is one of the most remarkable features of Spanish: the verbs ser (to be) and ir (to go) are completely identical in the preterite tense. Context always makes the meaning clear.

Person	Conjugation	Ser meaning	Ir meaning
yo	fui	I was	I went
tú	fuiste	you were	you went
él / ella / usted	fue	he/she was	he/she went
nosotros / nosotras	fuimos	we were	we went
vosotros / vosotras	fuisteis	you all were	you all went
ellos / ellas / ustedes	fueron	they were	they went