Are you ready to learn a big chunk of the Spanish language? In English, if you know the 800 most common words, you’ll understand 75% of day-to-day speech. Same with Spanish!
Learning the most important words before any others is extremely important, and good on you for taking that step!
In this article, we will go over the 23 most common Spanish verbs, and I’ll explain the ones that aren’t “super self-explanatory”. We’ll see how all of these verbs look in their conjugated forms and in sentences.
At the end of the article, I’ll even give you an additional 20 verbs & example sentences for each! Let's take a look at these common Spanish verbs!
¿Estás listo/a? (Are you ready)
Empecemos (Let’s start)
Intro: How Spanish Verbs Work
Spanish verbs are broken up into 3 main categories - AR, ER, and IR verbs. Each type comes with rules that show us how to conjugate the verbs.
In total, there are about 10 "very commonly used conjugations." But don't worry, if you just keep learning, you'll acquire these conjugations without hurting your brain. Just keep reading, listening, and reading materials like this and you'll never have to "study".
How (Common) Spanish Verbs Get Conjugated
In this article, we will only explore the present tense conjugations for Tú (You) Yo (I) Él, Ella, & Usted (He/Her/You-Formal). In the Spanish language, conjugating is made relatively easy and soon it will become second nature for you.
Whenever we conjugate many verbs - such as Hablar (To speak), we just take the verb ending off (AR) and add the corresponding letter(s) for the subject we are conjugating for. Check it out:
Hablar (To Speak)
Yo = O: Hablar (- AR) + O = Hablo (I speak)
Tú = AS: Hablar (- AR) + AS = Hablas (You speak)
So you see, we simply remove the verb ending (AR/ER/IR) and we add the corresponding letter(s) for “who” is doing the verb.
Verb 1 - Ser (To be)
Ser is one of two words that translates as “To be” with the other being Estar. The difference between Ser and Estar is that Ser is used for more permanent nouns.
For example: I am a doctor (Ser), I am from the USA (Ser), I am German & Italian (Ser).
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Soy (Am) |
Tú (You) | Eres (Are) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Es (Is) |
Ex:
Yo soy doctor
(I am a doctor)
Verb 2 - Estar (To be)
Estar means “To be” and it’s used to describe temporary states of being. For example: I am happy (Estar), it’s okay (Estar), he is playing (Estar).
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Estoy (Am) |
Tú (You) | Estás (Are) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Está (Is) |
Ex:
Yo estoy en el bus
(I am on the bus)
Verb 3 - Tener (To have)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Tengo (Have) |
Tú (You) | Tienes (Have) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Tiene (Has) |
Ex:
Yo tengo 3 gatos
(I have three cats)
Verb 4 - Hacer (To do, To make)
Fun fact - it’s difficult for native Spanish speakers to understand the difference between “To do” and “To make” because for them, it’s the same thing (Hacer).
So whether you are trying to “make bread” or “do homework” - both are Hacer.
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Hago (Do) |
Tú (You) | Haces (Do) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Hace (Does) |
Ex:
Tú haces todas las tareas
(You do all of the homework)
Verb 5 - Decir (To say, To tell)
Decir is usually easy for English speakers to acquire, but for a brief explanation: To express the word “Say” like in the sentence “I want to say something” - you use Decir. In addition, if you want to say “You were telling me something” - you also use Decir.
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Digo (Say) |
Tú (You) | Dices (Say) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Dice (Says) |
Ex:
Él dice que no quiere ir
(He says he doesn't want to go)
Verb 6 - Ir (To go)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Voy (Go) |
Tú (You) | Vas (Go) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Va (Goes) |
Ex:
Yo voy al parque cada domingo
(I go to the park every Sunday)
Verb 7 - Ver (To see)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Veo (See) |
Tú (You) | Ves (See) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Ve (Sees) |
Ex:
Tú ves un gato por allí
(You see a cat over there)
Verb 8 - Poder (To be able to, can)
Poder can also be used as a noun (el poder) which means "the power." For example, in the sentence "no tengo el poder de cambiarlo" or "I don't have the power to change it."
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Puedo (Can) |
Tú (You) | Puedes (Can) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Puede (Can) |
Ex:
Yo no puedo resistir
(I can't resist)
Verb 9 - Poner (To put, To place)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Pongo (Put) |
Tú (You) | Pones (Put) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Pone (Puts) |
Ex:
Él pone a prueba a ese niñp
(He puts that kid to the test)
Verb 10 - Saber (To know)
To know, that sounds self=explanatory, right? The thing is, saber also means "to taste." Not a joke, but luckily, you use the same conjugations for both meanings, like in the sentence - "Ese helado sabe bien" (that ice-cream tastes good).
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Sé (Know) |
Tú (You) | Sabes (Know) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Sabe (Knows) |
Ex:
Yo sé de dónde tú eres
(I know where you are from)
Verb 11 - Querer (To want)
This word is used just like the verb “To want” in English, however, you can also use it to say that you love someone. So if you say “Te quiero” (I want you) it means “I love you.”
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Queiro (Want) |
Tú (You) | Quieres (Want) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Quiere (Wants) |
Ex:
Ella quiere ir a México mañana
(She wants to go to Mexico tomorrow)
Verb 12 - Venir (To come)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Vengo (Come) |
Tú (You) | Vienes (Come) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Viene (Comes) |
Ex:
La gente va y viene
(People come and go)
Verb 13 - Dar (To give)
To give sounds pretty straight forward, and it is. However this verb is also used to say "To give birth," like this - "dar la luz" (to give the light - meaning, to give birth).
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Doy (Give) |
Tú (You) | Das (Give) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Da (Gives) |
Ex:
Yo le doy comida cada día
(I give him food every day)
Verb 14 - Hablar (To talk, To speak)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Hablo (Talk) |
Tú (You) | Hablas (Talk) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Habla (Talks) |
Ex:
Usted nunca me habla
(You never talk to me)
Verb 15 - Pensar (To think)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Pienso (Think) |
Tú (You) | Piensas (Think) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Piensa (Thinks) |
Ex:
Yo pienso que es ridículo
(I think that it's ridiculous)
Verb 16 - Salir (To go out, To leave)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Salgo (Go out) |
Tú (You) | Sales (Go out) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Sale (Goes out) |
Ex:
Ella normalmente sale de su trabajo a las 6
(She normally leaves work at 6)
Verb 17 - Comer (To eat)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Como (Eat) |
Tú (You) | Comes (Eat) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Come (Eats) |
Ex:
Yo como mucho arroz
(I eat a lot of rice)
Verb 18 - Llevar (To carry, To wear)
Apart from being the verb that means “To carry & To wear”, we can also use Llevar to talk about how much time we have spent doing something.
For example, if somebody asks “How long have you been living here” you can respond “Llevo 5 años viviendo aquí” which means “I have been living here for 5 years.”
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Llevo (Carry) |
Tú (You) | Llevas (Carry) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Lleva (Carries) |
Ex:
Ella lleva su mochila a la casa
(She carries her backpack home)
Verb 19 - Vivir (To live)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Vivo (Live) |
Tú (You) | Vives (Live) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Vive (Lives) |
Ex:
Yo vivo en esta calle
(I live on this street)
Verb 20 - Dejar (To leave, To let)
This verb is extremely common and can be used in many contexts. For example, if you want to say "to quit smoking" you say "dejar de fumar." Dejar can also be used to say "leave a relationship" like in the sentence "La dejé hace tres meses" (I left her three months ago).
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Dejo (Leave) |
Tú (You) | Dejas (Leave) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Deja (Leaves) |
Ex:
Tú dejas tu ropa en el piso
(You leave your clothes on the floor)
Verb 21 - Sentir (To feel)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Siento (Feel) |
Tú (You) | Sientes (Feel) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Siente (Feels) |
Ex:
Tú te sientes feliz cada día
(You feel happy every day)
Verb 22 - Conocer (To know, To meet)
Some people get this word mixed up with Saber. This verb is used most commonly for people. For example: “¿Tú conoces a esta artista? (Do you know this artist?).
Whereas, Saber would be incorrect in this sentence, conocer is used to express the idea of “knowing something.” You can also use this verb to say that you "met someone."
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Conozco (Am familiar with) |
Tú (You) | Conoces (Are familiar with) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Conoce (Is familiar with) |
Ex:
Yo conozco a ese hombre
(I know that man)
Verb 23 - Empezar (To begin)
Subject | Conjugation |
Yo (I) | Empiezo (Start) |
Tú (You) | Empiezas (Start) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Empieza (Starts) |
Ex:
Él empieza a estudiar hoy
(He starts studying today)
Bonus Verbs In Spanish
Here are some extra super common Spanish verbs that you should make sure you know asap. As a Spanish speaker, I can tell you that I hear almost all of these words daily. Good luck studying them, you got this!
Verb | Meaning |
Parecer | To seem, To appear |
Necesitar | To need |
Creer | To believe |
Seguir | To follow, To continue |
Trabajar | To work |
Llamar | To call |
Recibir | To receive |
Abrir | To open |
Cerrar | To close |
Gustar | To like |
Jugar | To play |
Mirar | To look at, To watch |
Entender | To understand |
Comprar | To buy |
Tomar | To take, To drink |
Conocer | To know, To meet |
Pensar | To think |
Salir | To go out, To leave |
Volver | To return |
Necesitar | To need |