# Strong preterites in u: tuve, estuve, pude, puse, supe

> id: conjugation.preterite.irregular-u-stems · category: conjugation · depth: standard · levels: A2, B1 · review: internally_reviewed

**Summary.** A family of verbs with a special u-stem in the preterite and unstressed endings: tener → tuve, estar → estuve, poder → pude, poner → puse, saber → supe, andar → anduve, caber → cupe, haber → hube.

These verbs replace their stem in the preterite with a u-form and take a single shared set of endings with no written accents: -e, -iste, -o, -imos, -isteis, -ieron. Tener → tuve, tuviste, tuvo, tuvimos, tuvisteis, tuvieron.

The stems to learn: tuv- (tener), estuv- (estar), pud- (poder), pus- (poner), sup- (saber), anduv- (andar), cup- (caber), hub- (haber). Derived verbs inherit them: mantener → mantuve, suponer → supuse.

Because the endings are unstressed, tuve and tuvo carry no accent — unlike regular hablé, habló. The same stem feeds the imperfect subjunctive: tuviera, pudiera, supiera.

## Examples
- Tuve que salir temprano. — I had to leave early.
- No pudimos encontrar la dirección. — We couldn't find the address.
- Estuvieron en Sucre la semana pasada. — They were in Sucre last week.

Related: conjugation.preterite.irregular-i-j-stems, conjugation.subjunctive.imperfect

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