Make New Year's Resolutions in Spanish

Quick Answer

¡Hola!Learn how to make New Year’s resolutions in Spanish in this article and the lessons above! Specifically, learn how to do the following in Spanish:

• discuss past achievements

• use common vocabulary related to positive actions

• use regular and irregular verbs in the preterite

Vocabulary

Let's start off with the vocab words in these lessons!

Nouns

Spanish	English
la afición	hobby
los propósitos	resolutions
la reunión	meeting
el violín	violin

examples
Tocamos el violín a menudo. We played the violin often.
Comencé una nueva afición. I started a new hobby.
El año pasado logré muchos propósitos. Last year I kept a lot of resolutions.

Noun Phrase

Spanish	English
el año anterior	the year before

examples
Anduve más que el año anterior. I walked more than the year before.

Prepositional Phrase

Spanish	English
con tacto	tactfully

examples
Dije las cosas con tacto. I said things tactfully.

Verbs

In this skill, you learn the following verbs!

Abrazar

Abrazar(to hug) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	abracé	I hugged
tú	abrazaste	you hugged	informal singular you
vos	abrazaste	you hugged	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	abrazó	he, she hugged
usted	abrazó	you hugged	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	abrazamos	we hugged
vosotros, vosotras	abrazasteis	you hugged	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	abrazaron	they hugged
ustedes	abrazaron	you hugged	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Andar

Andar(to walk) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," and, changes to anduv in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	anduve	I walked
tú	anduviste	you walked	informal singular you
vos	anduviste	you walked	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	anduvo	he, she walked
usted	anduvo	you walked	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	anduvimos	we walked
vosotros, vosotras	anduvisteis	you walked	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	anduvieron	they walked
ustedes	anduvieron	you walked	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that the yo and él, ella, usted forms of andar in the preterite do not have accent marks.

Castigar

Castigar(to punish) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	castigué	I punished
tú	castigaste	you punished	informal singular you
vos	castigaste	you punished	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	castigó	he, she punished
usted	castigó	you punished	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	castigamos	we punished
vosotros, vosotras	castigasteis	you punished	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	castigaron	they punished
ustedes	castigaron	you punished	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Comenzar

Comenzar(to start) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	comencé	I started
tú	comenzaste	you started	informal singular you
vos	comenzaste	you started	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	comenzó	he, she started
usted	comenzó	you started	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	comenzamos	we started
vosotros, vosotras	comenzasteis	you started	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	comenzaron	they started
ustedes	comenzaron	you started	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Conseguir

Conseguir(to get, to meet [a goal]) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," conse, changes to consi in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	conseguí	I got
tú	conseguiste	you got	informal singular you
vos	conseguiste	you got	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	consiguió	he, she got
usted	consiguió	you got	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	conseguimos	we got
vosotros, vosotras	conseguisteis	you got	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	consiguieron	they got
ustedes	consiguieron	you got	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Construir

Construir(to build) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," construi, changes to construy in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	construí	I built
tú	construiste	you built	informal singular you
vos	construiste	you built	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	construyó	he, she built
usted	construyó	you built	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	construimos	we built
vosotros, vosotras	construisteis	you built	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	construyeron	they built
ustedes	construyeron	you built	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Decir

Decir(to say, to tell) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," dec, changes to dij in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	dije	I said
tú	dijiste	you said	informal singular you
vos	dijiste	you said	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	dijo	he, she said
usted	dijo	you said	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	dijimos	we said
vosotros, vosotras	dijisteis	you said	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	dijieron	they said
ustedes	dijieron	you said	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that the yo and él, ella, usted forms of decir in the preterite do not have accent marks.

Divertirse

Divertirse(to have fun) is a stem-changing reflexive verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," dive, changes to divi in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me divertí	I had fun
tú	te divertiste	you had fun	informal singular you
vos	te divertiste	you had fun	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se divirtió	he, she had fun
usted	se divirtió	you had fun	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos divertimos	we had fun
vosotros, vosotras	os divertisteis	you had fun	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se divirtieron	they had fun
ustedes	se divirtieron	you had fun	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Empacar

Empacar(to pack) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	empaqué	I packed
tú	empacaste	you packed	informal singular you
vos	empacaste	you packed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	empacó	he, she packed
usted	empacó	you packed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	empacamos	we packed
vosotros, vosotras	empacasteis	you packed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	empacaron	they packed
ustedes	empacaron	you packed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Lograr

Lograr(to achieve, to keep [a resolution]) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	logré	I achieved
tú	lograste	you achieved	informal singular you
vos	lograste	you achieved	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	logró	he, she achieved
usted	logró	you achieved	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	logramos	we achieved
vosotros, vosotras	lograsteis	you achieved	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	lograron	they achieved
ustedes	lograron	you achieved	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Mejorar

Mejorar(to improve) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	mejoré	I improved
tú	mejoraste	you improved	informal singular you
vos	mejoraste	you improved	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	mejoró	he, she improved
usted	mejoró	you improved	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	mejoramos	we improved
vosotros, vosotras	mejorasteis	you improved	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	mejoraron	they improved
ustedes	mejoraron	you improved	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Pedir

Pedir(to ask [for]) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," pe, changes to pi in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	pedí	I asked for
tú	pediste	you asked for	informal singular you
vos	pediste	you asked for	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	pidió	he, she asked for
usted	pidió	you asked for	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	pedimos	we asked for
vosotros, vosotras	pedisteis	you asked for	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	pidieron	they asked for
ustedes	pidieron	you asked for	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

The verb phrase pedir perdón (literally, to ask for forgiveness) means to apologize.

Poder

Poder(to be able to) is a stem-changing verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," po, changes to pu in all forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	pude	I was able to
tú	pudiste	you were able to	informal singular you
vos	pudiste	you were able to	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	pudo	he, she was able to
usted	pudo	you were able to	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	pudimos	we were able to
vosotros, vosotras	pudisteis	you were able to	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	pudieron	they were able to
ustedes	pudieron	you were able to	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Reírse

Reírse(to laugh) is a stem-changing pronominal -ir verb in the preterite. That means that its "stem," reí, changes to ri in the él, ella, usted and ellos, ellas, ustedes forms.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	me reí	I laughed
tú	te reíste	you laughed	informal singular you
vos	te reíste	you laughed	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	se rio	he, she laughed
usted	se rio	you laughed	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	nos reímos	we laughed
vosotros, vosotras	os reísteis	you laughed	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	se rieron	they laughed
ustedes	se rieron	you laughed	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Note that the él, ella, usted forms of reírse in the preterite do not have accent marks.

Tocar

Tocar(to play [an instrument]) is an -ar verb with an irregular yo form in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	toqué	I played
tú	tocaste	you played	informal singular you
vos	tocaste	you played	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tocó	he, she played
usted	tocó	you played	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	tocamos	we played
vosotros, vosotras	tocasteis	you played	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tocaron	they played
ustedes	tocaron	you played	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

Tocar also means to touch. It’s important to remember that, in Spanish, you don’t jugar an instrument—you tocar an instrument!

Tomar

Tomar(to take) is an -ar verb that is regular in the preterite.

Pronoun(s)	Conjugation	Translation	Notes
yo	tomé	I took
tú	tomaste	you took	informal singular you
vos	tomaste	you took	informal singular you (in parts of Latin America)
él, ella	tomó	he, she took
usted	tomó	you took	formal singular you
nosotros, nosotras	tomamos	we took
vosotros, vosotras	tomasteis	you took	informal plural you (in Spain)
ellos, ellas	tomaron	they took
ustedes	tomaron	you took	plural you (in Latin America), formal plural you (in Spain)

The Preterite

Regular Spanish Preterite Forms

There are only two sets of endings for regular preterite verbs, one for -ar verbs and one for both -er and -ir verbs. To conjugate a regular verb in the preterite tense, simply remove the infinitive ending (-ar, -er, or -ir) and add the preterite ending that matches the subject. Check out the table of regular preterite endings below.

Subject	-ar Verbs	-er and -ir Verbs
yo	-é	-í
tú	-aste	-iste
él, ella, usted	-ó	-ió
nosotros	-amos	-imos
vosotros	-asteis	-isteis
ellos, ellas, ustedes	-aron	-ieron

Irregular and Stem-Changing Verbs in the Preterite

Note that some verbs, like many of those we saw in this lesson, are irregular or stem-changing in the preterite! Learn more about irregular verbs, spelling changes, and stem-changing preterite verbs in this article.

When Do We Use the Preterite?

We use the preterite to describe actions completed at a point in the past, especially those with very clear beginnings and ends. One common phrase that signals that we need to use the preterite is el año anterior.