Uyó

Uyó is not a standalone Spanish lemma. It is a common orthographic sequence that appears in the third-person singular preterite forms of several verbs, particularly those ending in -uir, where the stem vowel changes to a y before the ending. As a result, the letter cluster uyó occurs inside larger words such as huyó, construyó, contribuyó, and destruyó.

In practice, uyó marks the end of the verb form in the preterite for many -uir verbs. Examples include huyó (he fled), construyó (he built), contribuyó (he contributed), and destruyó (he destroyed). These forms illustrate the pattern in which the i from the stem changes to y before the final -ó, producing the sequence uyó in the latter part of the word. The accent on the final syllable (ó) signals the preterite stress pattern in these forms.

Etymologically, the appearance of uyó is tied to Spanish orthography and phonology that require a y-graphic insertion to preserve the pronunciation when the stem ends in a vowel followed by the -er ending. The effect is most visible in -uir verbs and in certain irregulars derived from them. In contrast, the 3rd-person plural preterite forms typically show a different ending, such as -yeron (construyeron, destruyeron), while the 3rd-person singular retains the -yó pattern in many cases.

Notes and usage: uyó is not a lexeme you would look up in a dictionary; rather, it is a feature of specific verb conjugations. Its presence can help identify certain verb classes and irregular spellings in the preterite. See also Spanish preterite, -uir verbs, and the irregular conjugations of oír and huir.