Suddenly

tuve · supe · quise

suddenly did it· tap a form for the whole table

Say these out loud

Why it works

A state that STARTS at one moment takes the preterite.

De repente tuve una idea = the idea arrived at that moment.

Why not tenía

tenía una idea

I had an idea

Says you already had the idea. Tuve is the moment it arrived.

In a full sentence

Esta mañana tuve un problema con la aplicación del banco.
This morning I suddenly had a problem with the bank app.
The problem started at a specific moment.
En el metro, supe que había olvidado el móvil.
On the metro, I realised I had forgotten my phone.
The realisation happened at one particular moment.
Mi jefe tuvo una idea durante la reunión.
My boss suddenly had an idea during the meeting.
The idea came to him at that moment.
Mi compañera supo del fallo en producción enseguida.
My colleague found out about the production bug straight away.
She learned the news at a specific moment.

5 gaps to fill, then 3 sentences from the English · say or type each one