Welcome to a world where language dances to its own rhythm, defying the rules you thought you knew. Where verbs are only consistent until they aren't, and many times... They aren't.
In this exploration of "Irregular Verbs in Spanish 101," we'll unravel the mysteries behind those verbs that defy convention, offering you a front-row seat to the art of linguistic evolution.
Prepare to be intrigued, challenged, and ultimately enriched as we dive into the irregular tapestry that makes Spanish communication a true masterpiece.
Are you ready to embark on this exhilarating linguistic journey?
¡Vamos! (Let’s go!)
What Are Irregular Verbs?
Whereas regular verbs follow normal conjugation patterns, irregular verbs are those which do not follow these patterns, rather, they take on new forms that look like different words entirely.
The way to tell if a verb is Regular or Irregular is if the conjugated verb has additional letters added that are not from the infinite verb.
Regular verbs take off the verb ending and add O to the end for Yo (I).
Whereas a different verb would add letters that are not (O). For example: Escribir = Escribo (Regular) VS. Venir = Vengo (Irregular).
How To Learn Irregular Conjugations In Spanish?
The way that helped me most to learn irregular conjugations was through acquisition. For every verb in Spanish I know about 15 conjugations, and yet I never “studied” them. I suggest that you learn them in context as I did. You can do this by just reading stories, music lyrics, etc.
However, to make this process more structured and deliberate, you can go to Chat-GPT and ask it “Write me a story in Spanish using the most common irregular verbs” - and this way you can deliberately acquire the information.
Acquisition Of the Conjugations
What I did to acquire all of the irregular verbs and their conjugations was:
For every method mentioned above, there is an article that I have written that dives deep into the methods that I used to acquire the Spanish language. Check them out if you’re interested :)
Keep In Mind These Commonalities In Irregular Verbs
Irregular verbs aren’t completely irregular, so to speak. In fact, there are many consistencies found in the conjugations of irregular verbs. For example:
O becomes UE (Contar - Cuento | Costar - Cuesta | Volver - Vuelvo)
E becomes I (Pedir - Pido | Seguir - Sigo | Repetir - Repito)
E becomes IE (Querer - Quiero | Pensar - Pienso | Entender - Entiendo)
19 Most Common Irregular Verbs In Spanish
In this section, we'll go over the 19 most common irregular verbs that you'll see in Spanish. For every verb you'll see the conjugations for them (in the present tense).
I suggest you just read through them, but don't stress yourself out over them, you'll learn them even if you don't take them super seriously.
Ser (to be)
Subject | Conjugation Of Ser |
Yo (I) | Soy (Am) |
Tú (You) | Eres (Are) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Es (Is) |
Ellos/as (They) | Son (Are) |
Nosotros/as (We) | Somos (Are) |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Sois (Are) |
Ir (to go)
Subject | Conjugation Of Ir |
Yo (I) | Voy (Go) |
Tú (You) | Vas (Go) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Va (Goes) |
Ellos/as (They) | Van (Go) |
Nosotros/as (We) | Vamos (Go) |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Vais (Go) |
Tener (to have)
Subject | Conjugation Of Tener |
Yo (I) | Tengo (Have) |
Tú (You) | Tienes (Have) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Tiene (Has) |
Ellos/as (They) | Tienen (Have) |
Nosotros/as (We) | Tenemos (Have) |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Tenéis (Have) |
Hacer (to do, to make)
Subject | Conjugation Of Hacer |
Yo (I) | Hago (Do) |
Tú (You) | Haces (Do) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Hace (Does) |
Ellos/as (They) | Hacen (Do) |
Nosotros/as (We) | Hacemos (Do) |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Hacéis (Do) |
Poder (to be able to, can)
Subject | Conjugation Of Poder |
Yo (I) | Puedo (Can) |
Tú (You) | Puedes (Can) |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Puede (Can) |
Ellos/as (They) | Pueden |
Nosotros/as (We) | Podemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Podéis |
Saber (to know)
Subject | Conjugation Of Saber |
Yo (I) | Sé |
Tú (You) | Sabes |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Sabe |
Ellos/as (They) | Saben |
Nosotros/as (We) | Sabemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Sabéis |
Querer (to want)
Subject | Conjugation Of Querer |
Yo (I) | Quiero |
Tú (You) | Quieres |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Quiere |
Ellos/as (They) | Quieren |
Nosotros/as (We) | Queremos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Queréis |
Venir (to come)
Subject | Conjugation Of Venir |
Yo (I) | Vengo |
Tú (You) | Vienes |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Viene |
Ellos/as (They) | Vienen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Venimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Venís |
Poner (to put, to place)
Subject | Conjugation Of Poner |
Yo (I) | Pongo |
Tú (You) | Pones |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Pone |
Ellos/as (They) | Ponen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Ponemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Ponéis |
Salir (to leave, to go out)
Subject | Conjugation Of Salir |
Yo (I) | Salgo |
Tú (You) | Sales |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Sale |
Ellos/as (They) | Salen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Salimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Salís |
Conocer (to know, to be familiar with)
Subject | Conjugation Of Conocer |
Yo (I) | Conozco |
Tú (You) | Conoces |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Conoce |
Ellos/as (They) | Conocen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Conocemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Conocéis |
Oír (to hear)
Subject | Conjugation Of Oír |
Yo (I) | Oigo |
Tú (You) | Oyes |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Oye |
Ellos/as (They) | Oyen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Oímos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Oís |
Traer (to bring)
Subject | Conjugation Of Traer |
Yo (I) | Traigo |
Tú (You) | Traes |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Trae |
Ellos/as (They) | Traen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Traemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Traéis |
Decir (to say, to tell)
Subject | Conjugation Of Decir |
Yo (I) | Digo |
Tú (You) | Dices |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Dice |
Ellos/as (They) | Dicen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Decimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Decís |
Volver (to return, to go back)
Subject | Conjugation Of Volver |
Yo (I) | Vuelvo |
Tú (You) | Vuelves |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Vuelve |
Ellos/as (They) | Vuelven |
Nosotros/as (We) | Volvemos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Volvéis |
Pensar (to think)
Subject | Conjugation Of Pensar |
Yo (I) | Pienso |
Tú (You) | Piensas |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Piensa |
Ellos/as (They) | Piensan |
Nosotros/as (We) | Pensamos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Pensáis |
Dormir (to sleep)
Subject | Conjugation Of Dormir |
Yo (I) | Duermo |
Tú (You) | Duermes |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Duerme |
Ellos/as (They) | Duermen |
Nosotros/as (We) | Dormimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Dormís |
Pedir (to ask for, to order)
Subject | Conjugation Of Pedir |
Yo (I) | Pido |
Tú (You) | Pides |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Pide |
Ellos/as (They) | Piden |
Nosotros/as (We) | Pedimos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Pedís |
Empezar (to begin, to start)
Subject | Conjugation Of Empezar |
Yo (I) | Empiezo |
Tú (You) | Empiezas |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Empieza |
Ellos/as (They) | Empiezan |
Nosotros/as (We) | Empezamos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Empezáis |
Jugar (to play)
Subject | Conjugation Of Jugar |
Yo (I) | Juego |
Tú (You) | Juegas |
Él/Ella/Usted (He/She/You-Formal) | Juega |
Ellos/as (They) | Juegan |
Nosotros/as (We) | Jugamos |
Vosotros/as (You-Plural) | Jugáis |
Irregular Verbs Used In Sentences
Spanish Sentence | English Translation |
Yo soy el doctor, ¿quién eres tú? (SER) | I am the doctor, who are you? |
Ella se fue de la casa a los 15 años (IR) | She left home at 15 years of age |
Espero que tengamos más éxito (TENER) | I hope that we have more success |
Yo hago lo que me da la gana (HACER) | I do whatever I want |
No puedes decirme eso (PODER) | You can’t say that to me |
Yo sé lo que tú quieres (SABER) | I know what you want |
¿Quieres ir al parque hoy? (QUERER) | Do you want to go to the park today? |
Ella viene cada sábado (VENIR) | She comes every saturday |
Yo pongo el dinero sobre la mesa (PONER) | I put the money on top of the table |
Salgo todos los días (SALIR) | I go out everyday |
No te conozco (CONOCER) | I don’t know you |
¿Me oyes? (OÍR) | Do you hear me? |
Traigo mucha comida (TRAER) | I am bringing a lot of food |
Te digo cada día (DECIR) | I’m tell you every day |
Ella vuelve a las 4 normalmente (VOLVER) | She returns at 4 o'clock normally |
¿Qué piensa ella? (PENSAR) | What does she think? |
No sé cuánto duermo, no mucho (DORMIR) | I don’t know how much I sleep, not a lot |
Te pido disculpas (PEDIR) | I am sorry |
No sé cuando el año empieza (EMPEZAR) | I don’t know when the year starts |
No juego contigo (JUGAR) | I am not playing with you |
Conclusion: Spanish Irregular Verbs 101
Our voyage through the realm of irregular verbs draws to a close, leaving us leveled up and ready to progress even further. In our exploration of "Irregular Verbs in Spanish 101," we've uncovered the mysteries of these extraordinary verbs that defy convention.
From the fascinating "e to i" shifts to the captivating "o to ue" transformations, and the enchanting "e to ie" transitions, we've witnessed language's artistic flair.
This journey has challenged and enriched us, fostering a deep appreciation for the mosaic of irregular verbs that adorns Spanish communication. Ready for the linguistic adventure? Let's go!
As we depart, armed with the tools to navigate linguistic complexities, remember that mastering irregular verbs thrives on immersion.
Whether through music, Netflix, games, or journaling, embrace the language in its natural habitat. Surely you will soon recognize patterns amongst the irregularity.
In this realm where rules intermingle with exceptions, our understanding grows, strengthening our bond with the beauty of Spanish. Remember, these twists and turns aren't barriers but milestones on the path to language mastery.
As the final curtain descends on our exploration, continue this linguistic journey with curiosity and bravery. Let irregularities deepen your language connection, and let expressive artistry be your guide in this captivating venture.
¡Hasta pronto! (See you soon!)"
Click here if you want to learn the 13 Methods that lead me to Spanish fluency!