In Spanish, some verbs deviate from the general conjugation rules in the present indicative tense. Some of these deviations are simple and easy to apply, while others may require some practice. Nevertheless, do not give up because conjugation in other tenses tends to be more straightforward with fewer irregularities.
Use your Anki cards to practice more examples until you master this lesson. In addition, you can use this Spanish irregular verbs pdf cheat sheet as a quick reference.
#1: Irregular Verbs in “Yo” Form
Let us start with the easier irregularities. In the first group, the following four sets of irregular verbs are only irregular in the first-person singular form, that is, with the subject “yo.”
- The verbs “estar” (to be) and “dar” (to give) are conjugated with “-oy” ending in the first-person “yo” form as “estoy” and “doy,” respectively, e.g., “Yo estoy aquí” (I am here), “Yo le doy dinero a mi hermano” (I give money to my brother).
- The verbs “hacer” (to do), “poner” (to put), “valer” (to be worth), “salir” (to go out or to exit), “traer” (to bring), and “caer” (to drop) are conjugated with “-go” ending in the first-person “yo” as “hago,” “pongo,” “valgo,” “salgo,” “traigo,” and “caigo,” respectively, e.g., “Yo salgo con mis amigos” (I go out with my friends). Notice the verb “salir” conjugation in the “yo” form.
- The verbs ending in a vowel followed by “-cer” or “-cir” are conjugated with “-zco” in the first-person “yo.” Examples are “conocer” (to know), “ofrecer” (to offer), “conducir” (to drive), and “traducir” (to translate).
- The verbs “saber” (to know), “caber” (to fit), and “ver” (to see) do not follow any rules. The verb conjugations in first-person “yo” form are “sé,” “quepo,” and “veo,” respectively.
Remember that these three sets of irregular verbs are only irregular in their first-person “yo” form. In other forms, they are regular.
| estar | dar | hacer | salir | conocer | saber | |
| yo | estoy | doy | hago | salgo | conozco | sé |
| tú | estás | das | haces | sales | conoces | sabes |
| él/ella/usted | está | da | hace | sale | conoce | sabe |
| nosotros/-as | estamos | damos | hacemos | salimos | conocemos | sabemos |
| vosotros/-as | estáis | dais | hacéis | salís | conocéis | sabéis |
| ellos/-as/ustedes | están | dan | hacen | salen | conocen | saben |
Added to these four sets are three more sets of verbs that are regular in essence but change spelling when conjugated in first-person “yo” form. These are the verbs ending in “-guir,” “-ger,” “-gir,” and “-quir.”
- Verbs ending in “-guir” in first-person “yo” form end in “-go,” e.g., “extinguir” (to extinguish) becomes “yo extingo.”
- Verbs ending in “-ger” and “-gir” in first-person “yo” form end in “-jo,” e.g., “escoger” (to choose) becomes “yo escojo,” and “exigir” (to demand) becomes “yo exijo.”
- Verbs ending in “-quir” in first-person “yo” form end in “-co,” e.g., “delinquir” (to commit an offense or a crime) becomes “yo delinco.”
| -guir ending extinguir | -ger ending proteger | -gir ending exigir | |
| yo | extingo | protejo | exijo |
| tú | extingues | proteges | exiges |
| él/ella/usted | extingue | protege | exige |
| nosotros/-as | extinguimos | protegemos | exigimos |
| vosotros/-as | extinguís | protegéis | exigís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | extinguen | protegen | exigen |
The justification for such a spelling change is to maintain the pronunciation rules. For instance, the letter “g” sounds like the “g” in “get,” except when followed by “e” or “i,” in which case it is pronounced like the “h” in “hero.” Similarly, the letter “c” sounds like “c” in “car,” except when followed by “e” or “i,” in which case it is pronounced like the “c” in “city.”
#2: Irregular Verbs with Stem Change
The second group of irregular verbs includes verbs with stem changes. In these verbs, the irregular conjugation is applied to all forms except with the subject pronouns “nosotros/-as” and “vosotros/-as.” The verbs in this group fall under five categories:
- Verbs that change stem from “e” to “i.” For example, “corregir” (to correct), “elegir” (to choose or to elect), “medir” (to measure), “pedir” (to ask for or to request), “reír”(to laugh), “repetir” (to repeat), “seguir” (to follow), “servir” (to serve).
- Verbs that change stem from “e” to “ie,” e.g., “advertir” (to warn), “atender” (to attend to), “atravesar” (to cross), “calentar” (to heat), “cerrar” (to close), “comenzar” (to commence or to start), “confesar” (to confess), “convertir” (to convert), “defender” (to defend), “divertir” (to amuse), “empezar” (to begin), “encender” (to light), “entender” (to understand), “enterrar” (to bury), “fregar” (to scrub), “herir” (to injure), “hervir” (to boil), “mentir” (to lie), “negar” (to deny), “pensar” (to think), “perder” (to lose), “preferir” (to prefer), “querer” (to want), “regar” (to water), “sugerir” (to suggest), “temblar” (to tremble), “tropezar” (to trip or to stumble), “verter” (to pour).
- Verbs that change stem from “o” to “ue,” e.g., “acordar” (to agree), “almorzar” (to have lunch), “aprobar” (to approve), “contar” (to count), “costar”(to cost), “dormir” (to sleep), “encontrar”(to find), “forzar” (to force), “morder” (to bite), “mostrar” (to show), “poder” (to be able to), “probar” (to test or to taste), “volar” (to fly), “volver” (to return).
- Verbs that change stem from “u” to “ue” include only one verb, which happens to be commonly used, that is, “jugar” (to play).
- Verbs that change stem from “i” to “ie” include only two verbs “adquirir” (to acquire) and “inquirir” (to inquire).
The table below summarizes the stem change rules with examples.
| pedir “e” to “i” | pensar “e” to “ei” | dormir “o” to “ue” | jugar “u” to “ue” | adquirir “i” to “ie” | |
| yo | pido | pienso | duermo | juego | adquiero |
| tú | pides | piensas | duermes | juegas | adquieres |
| él/ella/usted | pide | piensa | duerme | juega | adquiere |
| nosotros/-as | pedimos | pensamos | dormimos | jugamos | adquirimos |
| vosotros/-as | pedís | pensáis | dormís | jugáis | adquirís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | piden | piensan | duermen | juegan | adquieren |
Notice again how the conjugation remains regular with the subject pronouns “nosotros/-as” and “vosotros/-as.”
The rules about verbs ending in “-guir,” “-ger,” and “-gir” in the first-person “yo” form still apply if a verb happens to belong to one of the abovementioned categories. For example, the verb “seguir” changes stem from “e” to “i.” In the first-person “yo” form, in addition to the stem change, we replace “gu” with “g,” while the other forms only change the stem. Similarly, the verb “elegir” changes stem from “e” to “i.” In the first-person “yo” form, in addition to stem change, we replace the “g” with “j,” while the other forms only change the stem.
| “-guir” ending e.g., seguir | “-gir” ending e.g., elegir | |
| yo | sigo | elijo |
| tú | sigues | eliges |
| él/ella/usted | sigue | elige |
| nosotros/-as | seguimos | elegimos |
| vosotros/-as | seguís | elegís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | siguen | eligen |
#3: Irregular Verbs in “Yo” Form + Stem Change
The third group of verbs includes the verbs that are irregular in the first-person “yo” form with a “-go” ending and have a stem change in all other forms except the “nosotros/-as” and “vosotros/-as” forms. This group includes the commonly used verbs “decir” (to say), “venir” (to come), and “tener” (to have).
| decir | venir | tener | |
| yo | digo | vengo | tengo |
| tú | dices | vienes | tienes |
| él/ella/usted | dice | viene | tiene |
| nosotros/-as | decimos | venimos | tenemos |
| vosotros/-as | decís | venís | tenéis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | dicen | vienen | tienen |
#4: Completely Irregular Verbs
The fourth group of verbs includes completely irregular verbs. Verbs in this group include “ser” (to be), “ir” (to go), “oler” (to smell), and oír (to hear). Note that “ser” and “estar” both mean “to be.” More on the differences between “ser” and “estar” in Lesson 3 of this level.
Notice the “-go” ending in the “yo” form of the verb “oír” conjugation, which is similar to the verbs “salir” and “poner” conjugation in the “yo” form.
| ser | ir | oler | oír | |
| yo | soy | voy | huelo | oigo |
| tú | eres | vas | hueles | oyes |
| él/ella/usted | es | va | huele | oye |
| nosotros/-as | somos | vamos | olemos | oímos |
| vosotros/-as | sois | vais | oléis | oís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | son | van | huelen | oyen |
#5: Irregular Verbs with Orthographic Changes
The fifth group includes verbs that undergo some other orthographic changes when conjugated. We have already encountered the verbs with “-guir,” “-ger,” and “-gir” endings, which undergo some orthographic change when conjugated in the first-person “yo” form. We have also encountered verbs that end in a vowel followed by “-cer” or “-cir,” whose conjugation in the first-person “yo” form ends in “-zco.” Here we discuss two more orthographic changes:
- Verbs ending in “-uir” (excluding “-guir”) add “y” between the stem and the conjugation suffix in all forms except with “nosotros/-as” and “vosotros/-as.” Examples include: “atribuir” (to attribute), “construir” (to construct), “contribuir” (to contribute), “disminuir”(to diminish or to decrease), “distribuir” (to distribute), “huir” (to escapeor to run away), “incluir” (to include), “sustituir” (to substitute).
| construir | incluir | huir | |
| yo | construyo | incluyo | huyo |
| tú | construyes | incluyes | huyes |
| él/ella/usted | construye | incluye | huye |
| nosotros/-as | construimos | incluimos | huimos |
| vosotros/-as | construís | incluís | huís |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | construyen | incluyen | huyen |
- Some verbs ending in “-iar” or “-uar” add an accent to the “i” or “u” before the conjugation suffix in all forms except with “nosotros/-as” and “vosotros/-as.” Examples include: “enviar” (to send), “fiar”(to trustor to believe in), “liar”(to bundle or to bind), “variar”(to vary), “actuar”(to act), “continuar”(to continue), “habituar”(to get used to), “situar” (to position or to situate).
| enviar | actuar | continuar | |
| yo | envío | actúo | continúo |
| tú | envías | actúas | continúas |
| él/ella/usted | envía | actúa | continúa |
| nosotros/-as | enviamos | actuamos | continuamos |
| vosotros/-as | enviáis | actuáis | continuáis |
| ellos/ellas/ustedes | envían | actúan | continúan |
Quiz: Spanish Irregular Verbs in the Present Indicative Tense
Next: The Verb “to Be”: “Ser” vs. “Estar”
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