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      Rigoberta Menchú: -er and -ir verbs 1st and 2nd person singular (preterite)

      Lesson details

      Learning outcome

      I can use the preterite tense to talk about past events in my life and other people’s lives.

      Vocabulary and transcripts for this lessons

      Key learning points

      1. Regular review of vocabulary moves it into long-term memory.
      2. We only roll the 'r' when it's written as [rr] or when the [r] is at the beginning of a word.
      3. The preterite tense is used to talk about events completed in the past.
      4. To mean ‘I’, remove -er/-ir and add -í, e.g. 'leer' - 'leí', 'vivir' - 'viví'.
      5. To mean ‘you’, remove -er/-ir and add -iste, e.g. 'leer' - 'leiste', 'vivir' - 'viviste'.

      Keywords

      • Preterite tense - a tense used for events completed in the past

      Common misconception

      A single 'r' is never rolled.

      When the [r] is at the beginning of a word, we do roll it. For example, 'respeto', 'religión'.

      Teacher tip

      As part of a research project, the teacher could ask students to investigate figures such as Nemonte Nenquimo, Yalitza Aparicio, or Evo Morales, and then conduct peer interviews based on the person they researched.

      Licence

      This content is © Oak National Academy Limited (2026), licensed on Open Government Licence version 3.0
      except where otherwise stated. See Oak's terms & conditions
      (Collection 2).

      Lesson video

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      Prior knowledge starter quiz

      6 Questions

      Q1.
      Which word means 'that'?

      en
      con
      por
      Correct answer: que
      sin

      Q2.
      Match the Spanish and English.

      Correct Answer:dirigir,to direct, directing

      to direct, directing

      Correct Answer:entrar,to enter, entering

      to enter, entering

      Correct Answer:pedir,to ask for

      to ask for

      Correct Answer:poner,to put, putting

      to put, putting

      Correct Answer:tomar,to have, having

      to have, having

      Correct Answer:traer,to bring, bringing

      to bring, bringing

      Q3.
      Match the Spanish and English.

      Correct Answer:frase (f),phrase

      phrase

      Correct Answer:mano (f),hand

      hand

      Correct Answer:marca (f),brand

      brand

      Correct Answer:pared (f),wall

      wall

      Correct Answer:razón (f),reason

      reason

      Correct Answer:sueño (m),dream

      dream

      Q4.
      Order the words to say: 'he doesn't understand and she must listen'.

      1 - él
      2 - no
      3 - entiende
      4 - y
      5 - ella
      6 - debe
      7 - escuchar

      Q5.
      Write in English: 'tienes mucho apoyo'.

      Correct Answer: you have a lot of support, you have lots of support

      Q6.
      Write in Spanish: 'she can work here'.

      Correct Answer: puede trabajar aquí, ella puede trabajar aquí

      4 Questions

      Q1.
      In which words is [r] rolled?

      Correct answer: correcto
      dinero
      Correct answer: ruso
      sobre
      visitar

      Q2.
      Order the words to say: 'I read the words and you read the answer'.

      1 - leí
      2 - las
      3 - palabras
      4 - y
      5 - leiste
      6 - la
      7 - respuesta

      Q3.
      Write in Spanish: 'I translated and you (singular) drank'. Do not include pronouns.

      Correct Answer: traducí y bebiste

      Q4.
      Write in Spanish: 'I believed and you (singular) divided'. Do not include pronouns.

      Correct Answer: creí y dividiste

      To help you plan your 9 Spanish lesson on: Rigoberta Menchú: -er and -ir verbs 1st and 2nd person singular (preterite), download all teaching resources for free and adapt to suit your pupils' needs...